Naruto's Butterfly
by gadman85
Summary: While on his training trip with Jiraiya Naruto decides to do a summoning. While he does this summoning something causes it to go wrong resulting in something unexpected. This will change things for him and others. Rated M for adult situations, detailed fights and later romances taking a healthy direction.
1. The Butterfly's Arrival

Naruto's Butterfly

Summary: While on his training trip with Jiraiya Naruto decides to do a summoning. While he does this summoning something causes it to go wrong resulting in something unexpected.

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: Yes it is another crossover not usually looked at but I thought to give it a try anyways. Also I don't own Naruto or Alice: Madness Returns. Oh yah another thing there are spoilers in these parts! And it is Mature rated, if anyone knows about American McGee's Alice I don't think they would be too surprised. Rated M for Adult situations, detailed fights and because of a little bit of naughtiness thrown in some later chapters and relationships taking their eventual natural healthy course.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Butterfly's Arrival

Naruto was alone in a forested clearing near a town where Jiraiya, his Sensei, was 'gather information'. He sighed to himself, the trip has been helpful but he still didn't like his Sensei's perverseness. Naruto himself was a bit perverted, typical for any guy at the age of 15 years old; still he didn't go around thrusting it in everyone's face like his Sensei. He would keep it mostly controlled. Maybe once he finally found a girl he loved, who also loved him back, and she didn't mind he would let it take over a bit. He blushed at the thought cursing his hormones.

He decided he would summon Gamakichi to either train or just hang out. Given the toad's nature it would probably be just to hang out. He liked the Orange toad and they had become good friends. This being the case he was okay with just chilling with him. He nicked his thumb and started going through the signs quickly when suddenly he heard a loud earth shaking. KABOOM! Mostly unnoticed to him he messed up the last sign very slightly, but enough to change the jutsu and its effect.

"Huh? Wonder what that was? Ero-sannin must have been sighted spying on the women bathing again." Said the blonde to no one in particular as he finished the jutsu. "Summoning no Jutsu!" he then slammed a hand on the ground.

The results from the jutsu seemed to act different from a normal summoning. Sky blue eyes watched questioningly. The strangeness didn't stop there however, instead of the usual pop and light grey almost white smoke; there was a silence with a bluish smoke and multi colored butterflies.

Before he could see the full result of his botched summoning, two unknown missing-nin charged him from the brush. They ignored the strange summoning figuring their quarry messed it up.

Naruto quickly jumped back and brought out two kunai and immediately went on the defense. He was ducking and dodging kunai and shuriken coming at him. _"Damn. Where the hell is Jiraiya?!" _ he thought to himself. These two where good, and caught him by surprise.

Naruto jumped back and managed to summon a few shadow clones to help him. They put the missing-nin on the defense. Naruto quickly made hand seals and shouted, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough". The jutsu shot a lot of wind at the enemy ninja in front of him.

Before the technique made its way to the missing-nins, one of the enemy ninja with green half spiked hair made a few hand signs and used a strong fire jutsu thus canceling the wind jutsu and managed to catch some of the shadow clones in the blast. Naruto took advantage of the resulting collision and attacked the half shaved black haired ninja. Right when he was inches away from landing a blow he saw a kunai with an explosive tag on it heading his way. _"Damn it a third one?!" _thought Naruto as he jumped back getting ready for an even tougher fight now hoping Jiraiya would soon show up. It seemed that these three had decent enough teamwork and numbers on their side, not to mention a fire user that could negate all of his few wind attacks he knew. He had just started working on wind release not too long ago.

He had his Rasengan, but he had yet gotten it down enough to do it without the aide of his clones. With three coming after him and his clones skillfully, he wouldn't have enough time to make it. _"Damn it all to hell! I won't lose to them I have yet to become Hokage!"_ Naruto thought to himself frustrated as he charged at the new comer and continued the tough fight.

{-} {-} {-}

None of the ninja fighting in the clearing noticed that in place of the blue smoke and butterflies now stood a beautiful 17 year old girl closing in on 18 with pale skin, dark hair, a slim figure and entrancing green eyes looking around wondering how she got to this place and what was going on. "Well this isn't some place I have been before. I wonder what brought me here and where here is exactly." Said the young woman with a British accent.

"Hmmm. You always do seem to find yourself in the strangest of places Alice… And bring me along as well, I might add." Said an emaciated, large cat that looked very frightening with a deep baritone voice that would cause many women to swoon and maybe even some men.

"Yes it seems I can never be rid of you and your useless advice cat." Said Alice with minor irritation.

"I wonder why that is Little Alice?" Said the cat with his ever present seemingly knowing grin.

Alice was standing there watching the fight with her arms folded across her chest. She found the sight before her a bit curious. They all seemed to be moving really fast yet she could follow their movements with ease.

The cat gave his signature grin before once again speaking, "Well then, here is some useful advice. Why not help the orange and black outfitted guy over there. Maybe he will be grateful and give you some answers. This place has a similar air to Wonderland. Maybe you can still use your skills of combat and aide him."

Alice gave the cat a raised eye brow and said with minor amusement, "That has got to be the most forthcoming you have ever been with advice. I think you may be right Cheshire. Besides despite his ability to duplicate himself the odds seem against him."

The Cheshire cat gave a low and rumbling chuckle as he replied, "You seem almost grateful Alice."

Alice didn't say anything as she rushed in at an even faster speed than she had in Wonderland with her trusty blade in hand.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto had been doing well so far but he was starting to breathe heavily. The three ninja in front of him were very good and their skills complimented each other perfectly it seemed. The newcomer had a shaved head and seemed to be an Earth user. He hit hard and provided good cover for his teammates. The first one that attacked was good with weapons and knew a variety of jutsus. The three had him surrounded and he was getting low on chakra. He wouldn't be able to make any more clones it seemed. The three ninja smirked at him.

The weapon user said in a condescending voice, "Well brat you are good, and gave us a bit of sweat but it ends now. You're lucky that we want you alive as bait for your Sensei."

Naruto growled at him and said, "I am far from done here. Who are you people and why do you want Ero-sannin?" It was a bluff, that botched summoning seemed to have drained him significantly, and being taken by surprise and fighting off these three while using lots of clones wasn't an easy task. Especially after all the hard training he had done earlier in the day. He heard the Earth user in the back say something but he was more focused on the strange blue blur approaching from behind him where that disaster of a summoning took place. He was a bit shocked at its speed.

The earth user laughed as he said, "Ha! Looks like he knows his end is near." Then the bald man heard the steps coming from behind him quickly and turned around and raised a kunai barely in time to block. Alice's blade seemed to sing through the air as it sliced through the Earth user's kunai. "What the? Who the hell are you bitch?" He managed to say as he brought up another kunai reinforced with his Earth chakra making it tougher.

Alice's blade sang again as she continued to attack. This time the guy's Kunai managed to divert her attack, but he also dropped his guard and before he could do anything to respond Alice flipped her blade and sliced back this time slitting the man's throat diagonally.

As he choked on his blood and uselessly tried to stop the bleeding with his hand, Alice quickly sliced him vertically across his chest and abdomen. He collapsed to the ground dying as fierce vibrant green eyes glared at him, and the petite girl said, "None of your concern foul mouthed brute."

She then slung the excess blood from her blade and charged the fire user. The green haired man snapped out of his daze as the girl sped towards him really fast. He managed to use a fire jutsu that was aimed right at her. However before the attack made contact she exploded into blue and black butterflies and reappeared right in front of his face as she slashed his throat and then sliced an X on his chest and stomach faster than he thought possible.

The weapon user threw kunai and shuriken at the girl, but she seemed to have sensed them coming as she once again exploded in to butterflies and appeared away from him and his attacks hit the fire user thus ending the dying man's life faster.

Naruto took advantage of the confusion and made two clones that helped him quickly form a Rasengan that he then hit the weapon user with square in the chest as one of the clones sent a strong kick in the man's back forcing him into the blue energy sphere. The man died instantly from the rather messy end.

Naruto then kept his guard up as he looked over the young woman in front of him. _"She looks maybe two years older than me, maybe not even a full two years."_ The blonde thought to himself.

"What do you want?' He said in a cautious voice. Ready to fight if she turned hostel. Though seeing how she handled those two so quick he wasn't sure about his chances of success in his current condition.

Alice frowned. This didn't seem to be going well, "I am not here to fight you. Whoever you are. Besides I did just save you. Why would I want to attack you?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow not sure if she was being truthful. After all Kunoichi were very good at manipulation when need be.

Alice let out a sigh, "Might as well get this over with." She said to herself before raising her voice a bit, "Where am I? And how did I get here? Last time I checked I had just paid one final visit to _The Good Doctor _Bumby." She said the last part with venomous sarcasm.

After that, Naruto heard a deep voice say, "Yes, we would very much like to know. After all we would, if possible, like to return to our home in London, though there isn't too much there for us."

A cat with a wider grin than the blonde shinobi had ever seen materialized by the girl's side. The sight of the cat unsettled Naruto's nerves, despite his sophisticated tone and non-threatening words. Naruto finally managed to speak again, "Who are you? Sorry I didn't catch a name."

Alice gave him a half frown as she said, "You didn't catch a name because I haven't given you one. I am Alice Liddell. This cat here is Cheshire. He is only sometimes useful and appears when he wishes, whether it is an opportune time or not."

Cheshire gave her a grin and said in a bored tone, "Awww…. Alice your words hurt, honestly they do. Though nowhere near as much as your blade or my claws."

Alice shrugged her shoulders, "If you say so cat. Now I believe it is your turn to introduce yourself. It is only polite to do so when meeting people for the first time."

Naruto relaxed. He wasn't sure what was going on but he could tell that Alice wasn't going to attack him despite her seemingly terse tone. He gave his big fake grin that he always did, and replied, "Ahhh. Sorry about that Alice-san. I am Naruto Uzumaki. Just call me Naruto. I am not big on formalities."

Alice gave him a curious look over and said, "No worries I supposed my sudden appearance would catch many people off guard. Perhaps I was a little forceful with my tone. For that I am sorry. It is just that I suddenly find myself in some new place not knowing how I got here. I felt some odd pull before arriving here. At first I thought I would be in my Wonderland again… Clearly that is not the case." She then approached him and looked at him closely, causing Naruto to feel a bit nervous. He wasn't used to people getting real close to him, especially pretty girls, without a reason.

He shifted uncomfortably as Alice placed a finger to her red lips in thought. She seemed to have realized he was uncomfortable with her closeness since she backed away and said to him. "Are those whisker marks real? Not that there is anything wrong with them. I just have never seen someone with them before. Anyways sorry I got a little close there it wasn't my intention to make you uncomfortable. However, you shouldn't fake grin like that Naruto. It is very unbecoming of a person."

Naruto was shocked and dropped his grin. No one he could think of saw through his fake grins so quickly before in his life. "ummm… Sorry about that. Heh heh. It is just well something I have done in the past for people. It's kind of instinctual I guess."

Alice sighed and her eyes softened a bit. She had seen similar things before during her time from her fellow asylum 'guests' at Rutledge. The sad truth being it was often a last ditch effort to just grin and bear it once they had given up on fighting. Thankfully that didn't seem to be the case with Naruto entirely. "It is alright." She said to him. There was no pity or sadness in her voice. She knew that the last thing someone wants is pity.

"Alice I believe your curiosity has once again side tracked you from the matter at hand." Yawned Cheshire from a branch in a tree above them. Naruto didn't remember seeing him climb up there or anything though.

"Sorry about that Cheshire you know how I do like interesting things and curiosities. Anyways Naruto do you know what might have happened and how we got here? I mean this is your home right? Or well land." Said Alice, her green eyes gazing at the blonde before her looking him over with apparent interest.

He was about the same height as her, though a bit taller, with bright blonde hair and a light peach tan and sky blue eyes. She guessed he would be considered attractive and the whisker marks did add a certain charm to him. Still she was not one to fawn over guys like others; she had seen too much to be that way. Also Bumby's plans for her left a rather foul taste in her mouth that she still hadn't gotten rid of yet. However that was no reason not to be at least civil to others.

Naruto started thinking while also looking her over. She was wearing a nice blue dress trimmed with white lace at the skirt's base and a white apron on the front with some strange signs on the pockets. The apron was tied in a bow with what looked disturbingly like a skull right by her waist on her back. She had black and white stripped stockings and black knee-high boots with silver buckles. She also had a necklace with what looked like an omega sign and if you looked closer you could see what looked like another necklace safely tucked away under her dress. Her dark hair went just past her shoulders and she had dark eye shadow with light pink eye liner. This combined with her green eyes made her rather stunning in appearance.

_"Stop staring at her like that. You love Sakura. Don't you? … Damn Hormones."_ Thought Naruto to himself and he could have sworn he heard the Kyuubi laughing from inside his cage. All in all her appearance would be rather innocent, if it wasn't for the knife she was holding and the blood stains on her apron. The scary looking cat near her didn't help either.

He sighed still thinking. She clearly wasn't from here yet they could speak to each other and he had never seen nor heard of her before. Her name was also strange to him not like anything in the elemental countries. He thought for a bit then remembered her battle. It impressed him again. She was strong and fast and came from where he messed up his summoning.

His eyes shot open as realization dawned on him. It made sense. After all it was the reason why summons could talk and understand others. Somehow when a summon is brought here or you go to them there is an effect on you that lets you understand language and sometimes writing as universal. He sweated a bit. She might get angry at him for what he did. He looked away and scratched the back of his head nervously.

Alice couldn't help but find Naruto's actions and expressions interesting. He was different from anyone else she had met so far, yet not strange like the inhabitants of Wonderland. He looked nervous and she guessed he thought of something but was scared to tell her. "Well what is it Naruto? I can tell you have figured out something. I won't get angry at you I promise."

Naruto gulped, despite what she said he knew lots of girls would react violently after saying a line like that. He figured he might as well get it over with. "I might have accidentally summoned you here. There was an explosion nearby that caused me to mess up the last sign, when it broke my concentration for casting the summoning jutsu." He braced himself ready to dodge her attacks. She seemed more dangerous than Sakura, especially with that large knife of hers that she handled so casually outside of combat. Plus he didn't really know her like he did Sakura.

Alice's face soured, "Just great… I will never understand why these things happen to me… If Wonderland summoning me wasn't bad enough now other people I don't even know can as well? Is this some kind of habit of mine to be summoned places? As if following white creatures wasn't bad enough…" Alice seemed livid. Naruto was ready for anything. Cheshire just laughed to himself from his branch above them.

Alice saw Naruto tense and she took in a deep breath and let it out. "You have no need to worry Naruto. I only attack those that deserve it. Accidentally summoning me, though problematic, is hardly just reason for me to take action against you."

Naruto let out a breath and relaxed again, "Sorry about that. It's just that usually girls get really angry when they are told things like that and react violently." This Alice girl was different thought Naruto. He wasn't sure if this was bad or good though.

Alice looked appalled, "You mean to say that women here lash out at others even for doing things accidentally that are genuine in nature?"

Naruto looked puzzled and asked, "Genuine? What do you mean?"

Alice answered casually, "I meant that they weren't done with sinister motives. Or I guess were pure? Meaning you didn't do it with any ill will and despite my situation no harm was actually done."

Naruto just went "ohhhh…" He had decided that Alice definitely was a talker, though he kind of liked that trait in a person to an extent.

Cheshire looked thoughtful for a minute before saying, "This summoning thing. It seems you are familiar with it. That being the case is there a way to dismiss us? Send us back home?"

Alice looked a bit hopeful though deep down she had a feeling that there was probably some other reason she was accidentally summoned. Be it fate or perhaps destiny or consequence for her actions. Things usually didn't happen to her without some kind of reason.

Naruto thought for a bit and then decided that he would try the dismiss technique he learned. It wouldn't work on hostile summons but he knew that she wasn't hostile or well not yet at least. He still feared she might be overcome by anger and lash out like most girls he knew. "I can try something. But I'm not sure if it will work and it requires contact. Nothing bad just need to touch your arm or something."

"Oh that sounds good! Just touch my arm and if it works then try it on Cheshire afterwards. Though since he is always following me around maybe he won't need to be dismissed as well." Alice said as she once again placed a finger on lips in thought.

Naruto came up and touched her arm. It was nice and warm; she also had a pleasant smell to her despite the underlying scent of blood. _"Stop! You need to focus. Damn Fox giving me enhanced senses…"_ Naruto mentally cursed himself. Once he regained his focus he formed the required hand sign with his free hand and concentrated on dismissing Alice. He then said in a forceful and powerful voice, "Dismiss!"

Nothing happened. He tried again thinking he messed up his concentration and once again he said, "Dismiss!" Still nothing happened. He sighed and tried dismissing her like she was a toad he had summoned. That didn't work either.

Alice sighed and said to Naruto. "You can let go Naruto it doesn't seem to be working. Thanks for trying but it seems that I was right in thinking there is probably some reason I was accidentally summoned here, and not something happening entirely by pure accident." She looked down and away from Naruto as she frowned. The area around them seemed to get darker as Alice was saddened.

Naruto felt a bit uneasy with how things got darker around the area and Alice seemed sad. He said, "Sorry Alice-san. I will try to think of something or at least be there for you while you are here."

The area stopped getting darker for as Alice looked up at him and asked in soft voice, "Really? Do you promise Naruto?" She hid it, but the truth was she was terrified of the prospect of being stuck in a place she knew nothing about at all and alone.

Naruto thought for a bit and made up his mind. "Yah I do. I am at least partly responsible for this mess you are in so, the least I can do is try to make things a bit easier for you. Besides, I promised you and I never go back on my promises." He then gave a big smile, but not the fake kind of one; it was mostly his version of the 'nice guy pose' as bushy brow called it.

The area seemed to get lighter and better after that and Alice gave a small smile. "Ok Naruto. While I am here I will help you how I can in return."

Naruto thought it was weird how Alice's mood seemed to have affected reality or maybe something just changed with the weather strangely. _"Probably just a coincidence."_ He thought to himself.

Cheshire however had different thoughts, _"Well Alice it seems you are even more interesting then I originally thought. We aren't in Wonderland yet you still make things suit yourself to an extent. I wonder what will happen once you control this talent of yours."_ The cat disappeared leaving only his grin hanging in the air for a bit. He was going to look into some things.

Alice sighed and then she glanced in a seemingly random direction. She glared and said in an offended tone, "It really is rude to ease drop on others' conversations. You have been there for a while show yourself or else. I gave you plenty of opportunity to leave on your own."

Naruto was confused at what she was talking about.

{-} {-} {-}

Zetsu listened to all of this and wasn't sure what to make of it all. After a while when the petite girl glared at him and called him out he was surprised. People never noticed him if he didn't want them to at least. He decided to make his escape.

"Oh no you don't. Not that easily!" Before he knew it she had burst into butterflies.

"_Foolish little girl you can't reach this far with that shushin of yours."_ Thought the black half to himself. _"Now now. At least she was entertaining to watch no need to call her names."_ Thought the white half in response. Before they could make their escape though to their surprise the young woman appeared before them, and almost managed to slash at them with her knife. She only manage to cut part of their cloak though.

"Well don't you have spirit! Sorry but we really need to get going." Taunted the white Zetsu with a cheery tone while he backed up a bit to give him room for his escape technique. However he didn't expect the girl to summon a rather horrifying weapon and charge him. It looked like some strange skeletal unicorn with antlers and fiery purple eyes.

Alice managed to land a hit on him and he flew into the clearing. He felt as if her weapon damaged his very life force itself. Both halves knew they had to find a way to escape quickly. They weren't meant for close range fighting.

Naruto recognized the cloak the strange man was wearing and got ready to attack. Zetsu was ready this time though and was able to dodge both attackers with some difficulty and he even took some small hits, to his dismay as the kept fighting him. Finally he used a clone substitution to get some distance and then make his escape.

He wasn't supposed to do anything but spy on the kid after all. He didn't know what the boss wanted from this but he was loyalish to the leader. Now that he was discovered his mission was over. He had some information, though he didn't know what to make of it all.

Once he was gone the clone burst into smoke leaving Naruto and Alice facing each other in fighting stances. Both realized that they would still need training. Naruto did because he saw the difference between himself and a member of Akatsuki. Alice because since she was going to stay awhile and help out Naruto, especially if the blonde had people like that following him normally, she needed to be better at fighting.

Zetsu found it a bit tougher recovering after that attack than he ever had before. Both halves agreed that Alice was someone to be very weary of. "We have never seen someone with a weapon that actually damages one's life force directly before." Said black Zetsu.

"Yah if she is with the nine tails, things might get more difficult." Said white Zetsu his carefree persona breaking for once. Zetsu then headed back to HQ wondering what information he should share, if any apart from the minimum. He could blame his discovery on the extreme foolishness of those other missing ninjas.

{-} {-} {-}

Jiraiya was not happy, not only was his information gathering ruined, but then this missing-nin group showed up and challenged him. Their teamwork made the fight tough. He managed to take out a few of them but they still put up a good fight and it wasn't easy for him.

They weren't Akatsuki, that much he knew right away, but their teamwork was almost flawless. Quite the accomplishment for a bunch of missing-ninjas. He shuddered at the thought of Akatsuki being that good, he knew they worked together but they didn't trust, or even like each other in some cases. However this group was different. What he heard one of them say next really worried him.

"Think boss' capture team got the kid yet?" Said one with a mask and red shirt.

"I hope so we need the bargaining chip after all… Oh I think he heard us." Mocked the one with a black shirt with a red symbol for power on the front.

Jiraiya quickly dealt with those two and managed to scare off the remaining ones. He was sure that if he got to Naruto in time to save him he wouldn't hear from this group again hopefully.

He was close to the clearing when he heard sounds of battle and then what sounded like a clone dispelling. _"Hmmm… good job brat. You seem to have even more talent than I thought holding off a team this long on your own." _The sannin thought to himself as he raced towards the noise.

He arrived to see Naruto facing off a very beautiful girl. _"Well, I never thought a beauty would lead a group of missing-nin. Too bad I have to stop her."_ He said to himself, not happy to fight such a beauty but capable of it nonetheless.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice and Naruto were about to relax when a white haired man suddenly came from the forest really fast straight for Alice. The man threw a punch at her and was surprised when he hit nothing but air and saw Butterflies fly off and then reform in the shape of the girl a few feet away.

"I must say. Is everyone here this rude Naruto? If so, it will really try my patience. And I am not known for being very patient to those that are rude and try to attack me." Alice said with Narrowed green eyes, and scowled at the white haired man who tried to attack her.

Jiraiya looked confused. She called Naruto by his name in a rather friendly way. He wasn't sure what was going on. She sure was beautiful though. He had to shake his head to focus. She had a pleasant voice with an interesting accent he had never heard before. He stared at her with Narrowed eyes of his own. As he said in a low voice to his apprentice, "What is going on here Naruto?"

Naruto sighed and said, "She saved my life. I was attacked by three missing-nin with good teamwork and I was exhausted from training, so they were winning. She came and quickly killed two of them and I took care of the third one. We talked about a few things and then she spotted a weird plant guy wearing an Akatsuki robe. He was half white and half black. Alice-san here hit him with some really crazy weapon and then we fought him together. We got a few small hits on him but he used a clone and managed to escape." Naruto grinned they may have lost to him but they managed to hit an Akatsuki member. This was progress he thought.

Jiraiya didn't believe this. He looked at Naruto and saw that he was telling the truth. He lowered his guard and Alice's weapon disappeared from her hand. She butterflied back next to Naruto and looked at Jiraiya as she said, "I am Alice Liddell. To whom am I making my acquaintance?" She followed this with a small curtsey. After all she was told to be polite when first meeting adults. She didn't always follow this rule but figured that since this man seemed to be with Naruto and they were traveling together it would be best to make as good of an impression as she could.

Jiraiya wasn't sure what to make of her very formal very polite greeting. He decided that he should try to be formal. He bowed and said, "Pleasure to meet you Miss Alice. I am one of the great sannin, a loyal ninja to Konoha, the toad sage, great author and number one super pervert Jiraiya. Nice to meet you." He then regretted how he ended his introduction. He meant to be polite and formal in return, but she completely threw him off his game with her introduction and as a result he got caught up in his usual greeting. He sighed and bracing himself for what was to come. All women hit him really hard once he said he was a super pervert. Alice was different though.

Alice frowned in disappointment and said, "Is that so? Well then Mr. Super Pervert. I warn you now. I do not take kindly to perverts that flaunt it, especially if they try anything with me. Since you are with Naruto and he seems respectable enough. I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt that you can behave yourself when you want. Don't try anything with me or get too carried away in my presence and we shall hopefully get along."

Jiraiya was once again shocked. She didn't lash out at him. Yet for some reason her disappointment seemed to affect him more. He just met her and it was already like this. _"Who is she really?"_ he couldn't help but think. Then he noticed what she said and had to clarify, "Wait… So if you aren't around then it doesn't matter?" He said in complete and udder confusion.

Alice sighed, "I can hardly do anything if I am not there, now can I? I would hope that you can behave yourself on your own though. You are hardly a child. But if you try something with me I might be tempted to take a leaf from the Queen of Heart's book." Alice gave a sinister and slightly crazed smile with that last sentence.

Jiraiya stared for a bit and then said, "Okay then… Naruto lets go."

{-} {-} {-}

Jiraiya and Naruto then set out and to his surprise so did Alice. She seemed to be following them. He didn't think at the time what she said meant she had invited herself along. He wasn't going to do anything about it right now though, because the kid seemed to like her. Besides the main concern right now was to make their way out unnoticed and causally. If they ran it might get them suspicion from casual observers, which could provide a trail for others to follow. Once they were a bit away they would speed up and he doubted the girl would keep up then, even if she had that butterfly thing.

After half an hour or so Naruto and Alice started talking with each other. It wasn't much it was just small things to try and get to know each other better. Jiraiya didn't see any harm in it. Naruto was always friendly with others. In fact, it often played into his favor; he made some unlikely but true and powerful friends that would come in handy later. However hearing the two talking happily to each other seemed to grate on his nerves for some reason.

After a couple of hours, he decided that it was time to put the girl through the paces. If nothing else he would see how long she can keep up. He suddenly increased his speed not by much, but the increase was apparent.

Twenty minutes later and Alice seemed to be keeping up just fine. _"Let's see how she does this?" _he thought to himself.

She was still keeping up, so maybe she wasn't half bad but still he thought but still increased his speed again. Truth was if she planned on hanging around them, she needed to pull her own weight and be ready for a fast break if needed.

Alice easily matched their pace and Jiraiya noticed Naruto frown at him. _"Seems the brat knows what I am doing."_ The toad sage thought to himself a bit impressed that the kid figured it out quickly. After increasing their speed little by little a few more times, he jumped to the highest speed he dare go. Any higher and even Naruto would have had problems keeping up.

The sannin looked back and saw Naruto looking at him angrily. Jiraiya was a bit sad seeing the kid angry at him, but he now thought he had lost the girl. _"Sorry Naruto. But if she couldn't keep up at this speed then she would have been a liability."_ He thought to himself. Then he saw Naruto give him a mischievous grin. Jiraiya knew that something was up once he saw that, but still almost jumped when he heard the young woman's voice next to him not even sounding fatigued.

"I know having this group of powerful missing-nin chasing Naruto may require a fast escape while on this journey, so I can understand you testing my abilities. However, if you were doing this with the intent of losing me it won't work. Naruto is fast, but I am faster than him even if only by a bit when he is rested." Alice said this knowingly while giving the white haired man a disapproving look.

Jiraiya sighed. He knew he had lost his little challenge. He slowed his pace down a bit but they were still going pretty fast. They really did need to make some good distance.

{-} {-} {-}

After a few more hours they stopped to make camp for the night. While doing this Naruto approached his Sensei with a frown and said, "I know what you were doing and while Alice seems to be tolerant of it I am not Jiraiya-sensei. She saved my life and I promised to help her while she is here, and she plans on helping me back as well. So try to at least tolerate her. Besides trying to lose her is pointless."

Jiraiya looked at his apprentice and said with a smile, "I will Naruto. Don't worry she proved that she can keep up with us at top speeds. She won't be slowing us down... What do you mean trying to lose her is pointless?"

Alice was off collecting some firewood intent on not being a burden to Naruto and Jiraiya, so the toad sage didn't feel the need to hold his questions back. Naruto just grinned and did the hand seals for a summoning jutsu but the last one was off. He finished and said aloud, "Summoning no Jutsu!"

Once he finished the summoning jutsu, Jiraiya noticed, instead of the usual sound and cloud of smoke, there was only a light blue smoke and multicolored butterflies encircling it before it cleared revealing Alice, holding a good sized stack of firewood.

"Oh? So you figured out how you accidentally summoned me to this world Naruto and you can use it? That might be handy, though you shouldn't abuse it. I also guess this won't help in finding out how to dismiss me back to my world though, right?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and said apologetically, "Sorry Alice-san."

"No worries, and just call me Alice will you? After all you asked me to call you Naruto. Besides the fact that you can summon me to you at your own convenience and I can't fight it, I think puts us pass that whole formal titles stuff you were talking about early Naruto."

Naruto nodded and gave a smile blushing a little bit. It was a kind of hot being able to summon a beautiful girl whenever you wanted.

Jiraiya then suddenly touched Alice's arm and tried the same dismiss technique that Naruto tried earlier. The white haired man didn't give up until after the seventh try.

Alice shook her head and said to him, "Do you honestly think Naruto didn't try that earlier? Honestly, you people can be strange; though that isn't such a bad thing I can deal with strange. At least there are plenty of interesting things to learn about in this place. Naruto, will you please help me out there?"

Naruto smiled and nodded his 'ok' taking the statement for face value. However Jiraiya gave a perverted giggle and then scratched something on a notepad. Naruto glared and twitched an eye brow as he shouted at the older man, "Ero-sannin don't you dare use Alice-chan for your books!… I mean Alice." Naruto blushed, Jiraiya giggled and scribbled more fiercely. Alice wasn't sure what the -chan meant at the end of her name, so she didn't give any hint at awkwardness. She might have to ask about that later though the girl decided.

Naruto shouted again and Jiraiya seemed to give up but whined, "Awww…. Come on Naruto she gives me such inspiration! I mean come on… beautiful girl that can be summoned at will! Wanting you to teach her about interesting things?! How are you not thinking about this as well Naruto?"

Naruto blushed more and even Alice blushed getting the meaning behind the super pervert's words. She warned him though she wouldn't take nice to such things being said about her.

Naruto wanted to do something but didn't act fast enough. Soon Jiraiya went flying and hit a tree before lying on the ground in a heap and questioned, "What was that for?!"

"I did warn you Mr. Super Pervert. You are lucky that I wouldn't want to permanently dispose of you since you are Naruto's teacher." She frowned at him and finished, "It isn't that bad anyways I just used my level one Hobby Horse. Not like I used the Knightmare on you."

Naruto laughed a bit hearing that and Jiraiya decided that he didn't want to know what this Knightmare was.

He recovered instantly and questioned Alice "So what else can you do?"

She turned to give him a look but noticed he was now serious. He gave a smile and said, "I mean to help us on our journey. We still have a couple more months before we return to Konoha. I just want to know so we can divide up camp duties efficiently and handle other threats."

She turned back and said, "Well I guess I can help with watching and things like that. I have a few other skills, though I can't really think how they will benefit us as a group."

Jiraiya smiled hopefully as he asked something that he wanted to know ever sense he accepted she was coming with them one way or another. "Can you cook?"

Alice grimaced a small bit but they didn't notice. It wasn't because she couldn't or anything, she just didn't like that she did for her previous job and 'training' Bumby gave her. "Yes I can cook and I can also clean."

Jiraiya grinned and Naruto did as well. The older man spoke, "Good because the brat here can't cook anything but instant ramen worth a damn." Naruto frowned and added, "Neither can Jiraiya cook anything either. Everything he touches becomes charcoal black."

Alice gave a small giggle, "Probably because he is too busy thinking what a woman would feel like."

The white haired man frowned and said defiantly, "Hey! Just because I am a super pervert doesn't mean I haven't been with women before. After all part of my information gathering requires such things." Naruto was laughing while holding himself up. He found it humorous that Ero-sannin got defensive so quickly.

Alice laughed a little more before turning to them, "Anyways I am by no means a superb cook but others don't seem to hate it. However, I don't know what is edible here and what isn't. That being the case, I will agree to cook if you two help with ingredients. Otherwise I would just gather lots of mushrooms to eat. I have never had a mushroom that made me ill before. Sometimes they have caused me to grow really tall and other times shrink me to size of a mouse or smaller, but never have they made me sick. However, I can't say the same for you two, since I do not know how they affect you."

Naruto asked, "What do you mean by the growing thing Alice?" He was careful not to add chan to her name this time. He liked her but didn't think he should call her that yet. He usually called girls –chan because he knew girls usually liked being called that. For some reason calling Alice that made it seem like it would have to be much more personal and meaningful to him first.

Alice answered clearly, "In my Wonderland, I had a mushroom once that made me grow to the size of a house. I was very distraught at the time. Any young girl would be. Another time I had a mushroom that made me shrink to the size of a mouse. I was delighted at first because I could get through small keyholes that way but I didn't know how to grow back, which worried me."

Jiraiya voiced his thoughts, "That actually sounds useful. Can you still do that?"

Alice pursed her lips and then said, "I haven't actually tried that yet... Truth be told, I have yet to test my limits in this place. I did just get here after all. Though if I have my wonderland abilities here in full effect, then I can shrink at will and grow back to normal size. But I can't grow to the size of a house without some special cake. I will have to find some time to try that out I guess."

Jiraiya said to himself but Naruto heard him none the less, "You seem to be very much an open book when asked questions, Alice."

Naruto answered him, "She doesn't see a need to keep many things to herself if she is asked politely."

Jiraiya then sighed and said louder than he wanted, "Makes me wonder if she can keep a secret."

Alice looked at him and answered sternly, "I am not some gossiping house wife that thrives on knowing others secrets, just to say them out loud in some self-gratifying manner. I can be very tight lipped and stubborn when need be. I will not go around telling things I know shouldn't be told." Jiraiya's words made her remember bitterly the gossiping hens that always went on and on about her situation in public around her even when they had no way of knowing the truth.

Jiraiya was actually a bit relieved, though he didn't show it, by her response. "Okay, Okay Alice I didn't mean to offend you. Anyways we can take you up on that deal. You cook from now own and we will gather ingredients. I will tell you what I know about them until you learn them yourself."

The toad sage stood up and approached the cooking fire and said, "Anyways it is my turn to cook tonight. I don't think we have the time for you to get your first lesson tonight Alice."

Naruto gave a grimace and Alice seemed intrigued but also a bit worried. Jiraiya frowned. He knew he wasn't a good cook, that's why he asked if Alice could, but really they didn't need to rub it in his face.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto suffered through his supper that night. Glad that after this Alice would be cooking. He didn't know how skilled she was but anyone would be better than Jiraiya. "So Alice what do you think of Sensei's cooking?" Asked the blonde.

Alice took another bite and analyzed it. Before answering, "It is burnt like you said it was. However compared to the sorry excuse for food we had at Rutledge, this is an ever so minor improvement. If this is what you have been eating all this time then it is no wonder Jiraiya-san... Would that be the correct term? …Was so hopeful when asking if I knew how to cook."

Naruto smiled that alone meant it would be a change for the better, which he would take anytime. "I think the proper term would be –sama for him. He is revered in our village even if he is an open pervert but I guess –san, could work as well in your case."

Jiraiya heard their conversation and thought to himself, _"Wow! She has had something worse tasting than my cooking before? I feel a bit sorry for the poor girl."_ Jiraiya was very aware of his horrible cooking. He even used it once to torture a very difficult traitor into giving them his secrets. The traitor easily took everything Anko and Ibiki gave him with no sign of breaking.

He was then called in and after one bite of his food the traitor broke and told them everything about the village he was working for, all of the secrets he had passed and the abilities they knew. Needless to say once the village attacked they were easily defeated. Jiraiya remembered how Ibki actually felt sorry the traitor had to suffer his cooking. Naruto didn't like it at first but once Jiraiya told him this story the boy put up with it knowing that it would make him stronger and more resistant to eat his foul tasting food. The kid was thinking in the vein of, if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger.

After supper the toad sage decided that he would have a little talk with Naruto about a few things regarding Alice. Actually, it was just one thing that he wanted to know. As he sat down next to Naruto looking over to Alice and seeing she was trying to figure out how he had made the food this bad, he was guessing, he asked the blonde shinobi. "Why did you tell her about Akatsuki?"

Naruto stared into the fire for a moment before answering, "I told her because she is stuck here and really wanted to be helpful. Also considering she took one on with me I decided that it was best she know what they were doing. Or as much as I know about what they are doing without telling her about my reluctant resident."

Jiraiya nodded in understanding. He knew that when Naruto told someone about his inmate it was his biggest sign of trust. As far as he knew Naruto had yet to tell anyone that didn't already know it. Except maybe his fellow Jinchuriki Gaara, but he didn't count since he felt it when they first met. Some ninja his age had figured it out on their own he knew as well. Fortunately, those that had knew the difference between the demon and its container. _"Seems Sensei's plan worked, though not as perfectly as he wanted." _Jiraiya thought to himself thinking about the order the third Hokage gave about the matter after the Kyuubi was first sealed in Naruto.

The order was to keep what happened that night an S-class secret. This meant you can't talk about it with other people or you would die. This was done with the hope that people would eventually lay off it or at the least those Naruto's age would give the boy a chance. It was a good idea, but being a ninja village the residents knew how to draw a very fine line and not cross it. The civilians also found other ways to alienate the boy and made the kid's life a living hell. The worst part was Naruto didn't even know why they did this until he heard about it form a traitor to their village.

Alice finished the meal and couldn't figure out how it had gone so horribly wrong. All she knew was if she hadn't spent time in Rutledge she might have chosen not to eat tonight. It wouldn't be the first time she went without a meal for a night. "I still don't see how this was once a fish." Alice thought out loud.

Jiraiya sighed before saying, "Don't worry Alice. I don't know how I do it either." Alice actually looked a little bashful as she then said, "Sorry Jiraiya-san. I didn't mean to say that out loud. If it is any consolation my cooking will more than make up for this."

Jiraiya smiled only a little perversely as he envisioned Alice cooking with just an apron on. He really wanted to add to his notes but he chose not to. He figured if he did then he might see first-hand what this Knightmare she spoke about earlier was. He said to her, "That is what I was hoping for. Sorry to force you into cooking like that but it really was the best way you can help us out. Anyways time for bed everyone. Alice are you a morning person?"

Alice placed a single finger on her lips as she thought for a second while Jiraiya cursed his luck. _"She is such a gold mine of research! Why can't I use her as inspiration?!"_ The young woman then answered, "Yes I am, though sometimes I do prefer a bit of a lie in. However, when on the move that is not a preferable thing to do."

Jiraiya nodded this was even more perfect. He and Naruto weren't morning people. _"This seems like quite a blessing from Kami. Maybe things will be better for Naruto with her around."_ Jiraiya thought to himself before smiling and saying, "Perfect! Naruto you take first watch at midnight wake me up. At four in the morning I will wake you up Alice. Then once it gets to 7am make sure we are both up. Sound good?"

Alice thought for a bit then responded, "I guess so. That is a bit earlier than I am used to getting up but I can do it. Besides worst case scenario sleepless nights aren't a foreign concept to me."

Jiraiya wanted to ask what that was about, but decided that this was something Alice would keep to herself so he left it alone. "Alright sounds good. Remember brat wake me up at midnight."

Naruto gave a half-hearted sigh of irritation before agreeing. Jiraiya went to bed after that.

{-} {-} {-}

For the first time Night watch wasn't so bad. Alice stayed up a bit longer since she wouldn't be watching until later and talked to him for an hour. After she went to sleep Naruto couldn't help but realize how beautiful she was sleeping there lightly breathing. Also for the first time he found himself thinking of someone in a loving light other than Sakura.

Sure he had only known Alice for one day but somehow he could tell that they would be very close. He still couldn't get over how amazing it was that she saw through his 'idiot' smile so quickly. He would wait for a while, but he had a feeling deep down that Alice would easily accept him when he told her about the Kyuubi. "I know this is more than just my hormones acting too. I know she has things she hasn't talked about, but I do hope maybe sometime she will tell me about them." He said to himself. His eyes gazed at her for a bit while he still paid attention to his surroundings.

Once Midnight arrived he went and woke up Jiraiya. The old pervert said aloud, "I'm sorry Alice-chan not the Knightmare!" He snapped up blinking around and heard Naruto laughing. Naruto then said, "Wow… she really did pound some sense into you. Didn't she Ero-sannin?"

"Stop calling me that. I would like to see how you handle that hit and the fact that she said it was the lowest strength of that weapon really says something. Besides… Nothing called Knigthmare can be good."

Naruto stopped laughing and looked at his sensei seriously before saying, "It really does look creepy. Even Zetsu seemed a bit panicked after being hit by it. Or maybe it was the fact that she knew he was there all along." Naruto paused and thought for a bit about the day's events and continued, "I hope that I can get strong enough to help her like I promised Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya eyes widened before saying, "We still have time before we head back Naruto. I will help you anyway I can until then. This may have happened by accident but part of me thinks there is more to it than just that."

Naruto frowned a bit and said, "She said something similar. She said something like that to me. She said part of the reason why she was sent here is because there is something for her to do. She claimed that things never happened without some form of rhyme or reason."

Jiraiya just said, "Get to bed Naruto. Get your rest." Naruto nodded and then went to bed while leaving Jiraiya to his thoughts. _"She seems a lot more perceptive and mature than one would think from her appearance. It is frightening in a way but not something unusual. I hope this is for the best. She has already befriended Naruto even quicker than usual. Sometime I should confront her and speak to her alone."_

The toad sage sighed feeling saddened. It was unfortunate that young people had to grow up so fast. Despite being only 17 Alice seemed to have seen more horrors than those twice her age. She didn't let it show but those that knew the signs could tell. Naruto had also experienced more darkness from others than anyone should. He thought it a miracle that the boy hadn't turned out like Gaara at first except more powerful and rage filled. Alice he did not know much about but even with the hints of some form of madness, mostly subtle, she seemed to be better off than she should be.

As the night went on, Jiraiya had no difficulty keeping watch. He had to admit that they might have escaped danger for the time being. He figured if they made some good distance tomorrow. He could give Naruto some more advice and training. The kid still had a short temper and got frustrated easily with training, but he was learning faster than he thought possible. _"It seems that when given even the smallest bit of personal attention he flourishes." _Thought the sannin to himself.

Once it got to be about 4ish Jiraiya woke up Alice for the morning and final watch. Alice didn't really do much during her watch. She found it rather boring, so she started playing with her knife. At about 6 she stopped when she saw Naruto waking up.

After waking up, Naruto talked to her for an hour before she went and woke up Jiraiya while Naruto went to get stuff for breakfast. Once he returned she didn't have to actually do anything for breakfast, since he got some fruit for them to eat. She was a bit relieved by this. She wasn't ready to cook quite yet. She wanted to be able to take her time for the first meal she cooked for them, so she could make a good impression. Breakfast was not ideal since Jiraiya was all about leaving the camp quickly.

After they finished, cleaned up and broke camp, they headed out once again to continue their journey. For Alice it was the start of a new adventure that would last a really long time. She didn't mind this though. She was entering a world full of curious things and new discoveries.

* * *

A/N: I took some liberty in making Alice 17 closing in on 18 in this one. Meaning the events of the first game took place a couple of years sooner thus making the second game also a couple of years sooner. I am having Naruto 15 and getting to 16. I am not sure of the exact timeline of Shippuden meaning what month and day it starts out at so forgive me if this offends anyone. I do this because I didn't want their ages to be too far apart.

I have always been fascinated with American Mcgee's interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. Some call it the 'Goth' Alice, I disagree with that. Her clothing choice and the game's atmosphere are actually fitting of the Victorian era during the later parts of the Industrial Revolution. It is a darker look at Alice, but that is about as 'Goth' as it gets. Honestly, I don't think anyone else could fare much better given her circumstances.

Sorry about the length but by this point people following me should know of my long chapters. Anyways tell me what you all think so far. This story will be a bit more mature and more serious in tone than my other story. For those that have read my other story, this shouldn't be much of a surprise.

I will admit that this idea came to me while I read 'Butterfly Genjutsu' by Erisah Mae. However, that one starts back during the first part of Naruto after the Sound and Sand Invasion. I first started writing this story when I hit a bit of a road block during the wave mission in 'Naruto and the Unconventional Sealing'. I just got the idea in my head and I am sure you all know how 'plot bunnies' are. You can hardly ignore them when they pop-up and stare you in the eyes. PM me with questions and feel free to review and constructively criticize if you want. I do read reviews and sometimes learn from them. If I ever use an idea someone gives me in a review I will give them credit.


	2. Training and Experiments

Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: I don't own either Naruto or American McGee's Alice. I am also sorry if I fail miserably at capturing Alice's elegance and eloquence. Also this chapter is a bit choppy because I am trying to move along the last months of the training trip.

* * *

Chapter 2: Training and Experiments

It had been 2 weeks since Alice, Naruto and Jiraiya first met and the three had grown accustomed to each other. Alice and Naruto really seemed to have hit it off. Naruto enjoyed telling Alice all about Konoha and the wonderful food of the gods, Ramen. He even got Alice to agree to try it with him once they got back after their training trip was completed. Alice didn't say much about her past but neither did Naruto. Alice however told him all about her Wonderland and her friends there. Naruto liked hearing about it all even if it was strange and hard for him to grasp.

Jiraiya paid attention to most of what she said, but found it hard to believe. Yet he knew she was telling the truth. What he really found interesting was when she told of her home London. It was very strange and different things she talked about: trains, gas powered lamps, and other things, such as steam powered boats the size of a small hotel. The conversation was interesting. Some things from London seemed more advanced than they were here while other things seemed very outdated technology wise. Things to him made more sense when she noted that people were mostly civilians where she was from and that their military used things called guns for weapons rather than 'the amazing magic tricks', her thoughts about jutsus, they had here. He figured their gaps in technology were due to how their cultures seemed to have advanced differently.

Naruto really found the trains of London interesting. He remembered the one from his mission in the Land of Snow, now Land of Springs, which he hated, but the ones she talked about he thought sounded better. The trains she spoke about were used to get people from place to place instead of destruction. This sounded like a much better use for such things he thought.

Alice kept on hearing more and more curious things about this world. She was amazed about how they used electricity commonly here for lights, things called TVs and many other various contraptions. Electricity was something only scientists and the well to do used in London. It was far from widely used by all classes. Yet both Naruto and Jiraiya were amazed when she told them about some of the ocean liners she had heard about. They still used sailing vessels in this world for transportation over water and mostly carts for transportation over land, if they didn't travel by foot. She sort of felt that the uses of technology here were rather ridiculous and silly but then again so were most things in Wonderland, so she kept her thoughts on the matter to herself, since she really couldn't rightfully criticize.

As they continued their trip Alice thought back to when she first cooked supper for them.

-Flashback-

It was time for their last meal for the day. Alice didn't have to cook lunch since they got something from a cheap food stand they stopped at for a break. She was a bit apprehensive, since it was the first meal she was cooking for her fellow travelers. She really wanted them to approve, especially Naruto for some reason. She wanted Jiraiya to as well but not as much as she wanted the Blonde to approve of her cooking. She wasn't really sure why that was. Maybe because she wanted her stay in this world to be as enjoyable as possible and making a good impression on him seemed important for that to happen.

They brought her fish they caught in a nearby river and some vegetables which made Naruto say, "Yuck I hate vegetables!" This caused Alice to giggle a little. She asked if they could find some lemons and cooking herbs nearby. Surprisingly, they were more than willing to comply with her requests. While they went off and looked for the extra ingredients, Alice managed to quickly descale the fish and slice them into two filets each for the group. Her proficiency in using knives and such things helped her complete the task quickly.

Naruto returned with some lemons while Jiraiya came back with the requested herbs. They wondered what Alice was doing but before they could find out she asked them a question. "I say you two wouldn't happen to have cooking utensils would you? Such as pots and pans?" Naruto smiled and pulled out a scroll. He bit his thumb to draw a little blood and smeared in on the scroll. Alice watched with amazement when she saw pots and pans for cooking pop out and something which looked like a framed cooking grill.

"That was amazing Naruto! How did you do that?" Alice asked as she took a pan for cooking the fish and something she knew she could use to turn the fish over when needed. Naruto gave a big grin as he scratched the back of his head a bit embarrassed by her praise and said, "It is called a storage seal. Sensei here taught me how to make them."

Jiraiya grinned hoping that she would be impressed with his teaching as he said, "I am an awesome teacher after all!"

"Or Naruto is a really good learner. No offense Jiraiya-san but I am more inclined to believe the latter as opposed to the former." Alice quipped to him earning a laugh from Naruto and a sweat drop from Jiraiya.

Alice then made a concoction using squeezed Lemon juice and the herbs they gathered for her. She then found in the assorted cooking equipment a brush for painting the mixed concoction on the fish fillets she made while she cooked up the vegetables.

Jiraiya and Naruto were actually amazed watching her cook and the smells were making their mouths water. After a few more minutes Alice said she was finished. Naruto and Jiraiya didn't believe her it seemed too short of a time for the meal to be finished. Jiraiya decided he would voice his thoughts, "How can it be finished already? I mean it takes a long time to cook this sort of thing doesn't it? Are you sure it is edible Alice? It doesn't even look blackened."

Alice gave him a look and said to him, "Yes the fillets are ready and the vegetables as well. If you think this isn't ready then it is no mystery your cooking tasted so bad. All we need is something to eat with. I see you have plates but I don't see any knives or forks. Do you have those stick things for eating by chance? I have always wondered about how they are used. Fortunately fish isn't too tough to cut so I bet those things could work just fine."

"You mean chopsticks?" Asked Naruto.

"Yah that is what they are called. I have never eaten with them before. You wouldn't mind teaching me would you, Naruto?" Alice asked as she placed two fillets and some vegetables on each plate before severing them to Jiraiya and Naruto.

Jiraiya really enjoyed having such a beautiful girl serve him a plate and ask if he wanted more vegetables. Naruto felt a little funny when Alice bent over handing him his plate and then sat down right next to him after she got her own plate and watched him expectantly waiting to be shown how chopsticks work.

Jiraiya still was a bit weary of this dish. It looked and smelled tasty enough but he wasn't sure. He thought fish was supposed to be black before you could eat it. Also he had never seen fish served like this before, usually they were skewered and cooked near a fire whole. He decided to wait for Naruto to take his first bite of the fish. He started with his vegetables which tasted very good. His taste buds shouted for joy and made quick work of them.

Naruto blushed while Alice sat really close to him and paid close attention to him while he instructed her on how to use chopsticks. Alice seemed very intrigued by the concept. Once she held them up and Naruto corrected her grip she soon got the hang of it and started eating.

Naruto watched for a bit and when she looked up at him and said he should eat before the food gets cold he obeyed. He wasn't sure but it seemed that Alice was watching him with bated breath as he took his first bite. His eyes widened and his taste buds rejoiced. "Delicious! This taste amazing Alice-chan!" He then started eating with more gusto. He noticed that Alice seemed to relax and smile at his response while she started eating. He was a bit caught off guard. He had never seen someone hopeful for his approval of something, especially a beautiful girl like Alice. It made him feel warm inside.

Alice started eating her food as well. She thought that she did okay with it. She was happy, but surprised that Naruto liked it so much. She waited for what Jiraiya would say. However, she didn't care as much for what he thought, but she still hoped he liked it never the less.

Jiraiya was curious by Naruto's response. He didn't think it could be that good, though the vegetables were good. He took a bite of the fish and was amazed by how it tasted. He managed to control his reaction better than Naruto. "It really is Alice. I have to say this is probably one of the best meals I have had in a real long time. I think having you in charge of the cooking was the best decision I have made for this trip of ours."

"Thanks Jiraiya-san. It means a lot to me that you two approve of my cooking. Naruto you really should eat those vegetables they are good and good for you."

Jiraiya laughed before saying to the young British girl, "I would be completely surprised if anyone ever got that brat to eat his vegetables."

Naruto glared at his Sensei for a second before turning to Alice about to say something to her. Before Naruto could say anything though Alice looked at him and gave an imploring look before saying to him "Naruto. Please eat the vegetables on your plate. Even if you don't like them, could you do it for me? It really would mean a lot to me if you did."

Naruto gulped. He looked at her beautiful vivid green eyes. _"Her eyes are so beautiful. I thought Sakura had beautiful eyes. But Alice's are more so… Even though I still love Sakura."_ The blonde thought to himself. He gave into Alice's intense green eyes and finally took a bite of his vegetables. He was pleasantly surprised and said, "Wow these aren't that bad. I mean I have always hated vegetables but these aren't that bad. Maybe it is because you cooked them or something." He then finished eating his meal.

Jiraiya watched the exchange with a doubtful look and was shocked when he saw his apprentice actually take a bite of the vegetables on his plate before then finishing them. _"Wow… I never thought I would see the day."_

After they finished their meals they then went to bed going with the same schedule for watch they did the night before. To Alice this was one of the best nights she had had in a long time. She was glad that both Jiraiya and Naruto liked her cooking and she also learned about chopsticks. She was also glad that she could help her fellow travelers out even if just by cooking and taking the last watch.

- End of Flashback-

These past two weeks have been rather pleasant Alice thought. She had gotten to know her two companions fairly well. She spent plenty of time talking to both Jiraiya and Naruto as well as finding ways she could train herself to get even faster and maybe stronger. She was fast and strong as is, but the encounter with the black and white plant man made her realize she needed to get better if she was to stay in this world.

It really struck her when Naruto told her what he knew of this Akatsuki group and the members in it. He still didn't say exactly why they were after him in particular or what their goals were, but she understood. She quickly picked up that some horrible things happened to him in his past he didn't feel like sharing with her, despite how well they seemed to get along with each other in such a short amount of time. She knew what it was like not wishing to share your past with others though and she didn't press him.

She didn't want to share her past either, at least not yet. She figured since it seemed they would be spending a lot of time together, eventually she would have to do so. But she wasn't so sure about how to approach the subject to begin with. She just knew she would have to trust them both eventually, since Naruto could summon her at will and he had commented on how he thought they worked well together against that plant man. This also meant she would have to tell Jiraiya as well if she wanted him to feel like he could trust her to help Naruto.

She was glad she found out she could use many of her weapons from both times she saved Wonderland. Though the Blunderbuss was more powerful and explosive than she remembered it being, and the Jabberwocky's eye staff was very draining on her. It seemed that her more magic based weapons in wonderland took something similar to what Naruto and Jiraiya had told her chakra was. It wasn't quite the same though she thought.

As far as her weapons went, she found that she would mostly use her melee type weapons and her throwing cards as opposed to her weapons like the teapot cannon, pepper grinder and icewand. The clockwork bomb was still useful but mostly, like in Wonderland, as a distraction. She hadn't really wanted to try her umbrella yet though.

She still hadn't found the time yet to test her powers like shrinking, Hysteria and floating. Also she had yet to try changing outfits. She didn't really want onlookers when she tried that out. Especially Jiraiya, who while pleasant, though barely tolerable at times, was still a super pervert, and she couldn't really stop him from looking if she willingly changed in front of him.

One thing that had been bothering her was where Cheshire had gone off to. She hadn't seen him since after they first arrived here. She was a bit concerned. He may be irritating at times but he was always there by her side in some form or fashion since she first visited Wonderland.

As Alice kept thinking on the cat to herself Naruto noticed for a bit there was a darkening gloom growing around her. He looked at her and saw her usually vivid green eyes darken a bit and grow sadder. He was concerned for her and asked, "Alice you ok? What are you thinking about?"

Alice was snapped from her thoughts and things seemed to get a bit brighter as she looked over to Naruto and gave him a sad smile before saying, "I am ok. Sorry about that Naruto I didn't mean to cause concern. I was just wondering about Cheshire. I haven't seen him in a while. Usually he pops in every so often even if only to speak riddles."

Naruto gave a little frown he could tell that despite their quips the two were good friends but he still didn't like Alice sad so he thought he would cheer her up a bit maybe, "I'm sure he is about somewhere. Possibly looking into things concerning the situation you two are in. When he does return I kind of want to see how Jiraiya will respond though. I think it might be funny."

Alice gave a small laugh, the sadness leaving her and the surrounding area. "No doubt he will find the Super Pervert very curious indeed. He picks up on things others don't and then teases them in a playful manner."

Naruto gave a laugh in return but wondered; if his playful manner was what he had seen when they first met, what was the creature like when he wasn't playing? He gave a small shudder at the thought. He wondered what it was that led Alice to see him as a friend despite how horrifying he was.

Naruto was wondering what the dark haired, green eyed beauty had been through. It took some time but he realized that she too had been through some bad things in her life. He didn't press her because he understood her. Besides they had only been around each other for two weeks, though the two weeks seemed to have been longer since they spoke a lot while travelling.

Jiraiya was getting more curious about Alice. He noticed how the area surrounding them changed for a bit and was starting to think she might be the source, once Naruto showed his concern for the petite girl. Once she was cheered up, which he hadn't really paid much attention to what they said, he noticed things lightened up around them again. _"Is this some kind of genjutsu? I doubt it… Somehow I think she can actually affect reality in ways… Who are you really Alice?"_ The sage thought to himself not for the first time nor would it be the last time.

{-} {-} {-}

It had been a total of two months now since Alice first joined them. Jiraiya had to admit that the girl really grew on him. She was smart, funny in her unique way, fast, strong, and of course beautiful. He was also very grateful that the girl could cook. He and Naruto had been eating like daimyos. Not an excessive amount like one but the food in his opinion was fit for one. It was also very healthy considering they had to use what they could find when they weren't near a market.

Jiraiya was relaxing today while he thought about how the last two months had gone by and how things had changed. Both Naruto and Alice were currently off training separately. He smiled as he thought about how Alice had fit in with them rather easily.

Alice had gotten used to the different types of herbs and other ingredients so she no longer needed to ask their name when they brought them to her. Also when she was looking for something in particular she could call it by name now instead having to try her hardest describing it. Jiraiya and Naruto were both surprisingly able to figure out what she wanted from her awkward descriptions in the past though. "It has a bit of a tangy yet bland taste that goes well with mushrooms." She had said to them one time. It was a miracle they managed to figure it out in the end.

They had realized after sometime just how fond Alice was of mushrooms, especially when used to complement a dish of some kind. She could also make a wonderful stew with them and other vegetables and meat. They found out she didn't like rabbit meat even if she could cook with it and did at times. She knew they needed to have meat for a balanced diet, and she didn't complain. However on those seldom days when she cooked rabbit, there was a morbid feel to air around their camp while Alice would say to herself constantly, "I feel as if I am cooking Rabbit and feeding him to others."

The two ninjas were a bit worried the first night that happened. Fortunately, the next day after Naruto talked to her for a bit she seemed to cheer up again and the area around them did as well. Alice didn't really notice this but both Naruto and Jiraiya did. This wasn't the only time this kind of thing happened around her either.

One day when it was raining Alice had been feeling down since she still hadn't seen Cheshire all this time. It seemed to rain harder for a bit until she pulled herself away from her depressing thoughts and the rain let up. It still rained but it wasn't a downpour anymore.

{-} {-} {-}

Jiraiya next started thinking about Naruto. The kid had really grown strong in the last couple of months. He had grown stronger and smarter. The sage thought having Alice around helped do that. She seemed to make him more driven to train but at same time find ways to be smarter with his training.

Naruto no longer trained himself to near death like he used to do. Alice had said to him some rather interesting quotes at times, Jiraiya thought. She claimed a friend had told her the same before. One of the quotes caused Naruto to really think things through while training. "'Only the insane equate pain with success'. You, Naruto, are far from insane. You shouldn't be thinking your training has been successful because you can barely move and your body hurts from the strain you gave it. Think of how to train better, not just more." She said to him one evening as he lay on the ground exhausted from his training.

After hearing that Naruto thought things through while using his clones to train in Taijutsu. He noticed that he learned things the clones learned when they dispelled. He noticed this when one of his clones accidentally dispelled himself and Naruto got the memories of that clone back. Before when his clones dispelled there was so much information going around that he often didn't realize what happened or he had soon passed out from exertion.

This was quite the realization for the blonde. He experimented with it and saw how the more he used for training while being careful with them the better his training went. Naruto couldn't help but give a grin to himself that Cheshire would have been proud to see. Naruto made much better use of his training from then on and started to grow rapidly. He only wished he knew this tidbit sooner. He had known the shadow clone technique since he first become a ninja.

Some other changes Naruto hadn't noticed as much were the physical ones. He had grown a bit taller and had more lean muscle, which made things better for a ninja. Alice giving them a healthy and balanced diet caused him to start growing properly. The boy was also happy to have her around so he felt more at ease and less stressed. This really helped with his mental health. He wasn't constantly thinking about things he shouldn't think about for too long. Such as what happened when he was younger, this was something which despite how he seemed at times had always plagued his mind to some extent.

Alice herself had changed as well while with them. She was the same physically but she was stronger and faster now. She even grew more efficient with her weapons. This actually scared Jiraiya, she was already very good with her knife, and now she was even more deadly with it. It sang through the air as she wielded it more so than it did when she first arrived here form how Naruto describe the battle to him. It also left a red and black trail where it went and strange symbols in the air as well. He asked her about that and she said it was always like that in Wonderland but now it was like that here as well.

They also saw how she used Playing cards instead of shuriken as throwing weapons. Jiraiya asked her about that and she claimed to always have done this when she trained on her own. The sage didn't think cards could be deadly until she threw a few quickly and accurately in to a tree a good distance away where they imbedded their selves firmly in said tree. She also showed him how sharp they were.

The thing that really bothered him though, was probably how when she was bored she did some dangerous things. While they walked from place to place sometimes she would jump up on to a fence, walk on top of it with ease while juggling her playing cards. She almost imbedded one in her skull before she managed to catch it. Other times, if they had a bit of distance between each other she did practice swings with her Vorpal blade, as she called her knife, sometimes even flipping the blade in her hands causally while carrying on a conversation with them. Naruto was worried at first by these actions, but soon got used to it knowing Alice was just plain dangerous when she was bored but knew what she was doing. Part of him actually started to find it a kind of cute how she played with her weapons so innocently.

{-} {-} {-}

Jiraiya also noticed how the two had grown very close over the two months. They really enjoyed each other's company. They talked a bit about their past, but they both were holding parts back. He didn't know what all Alice was holding back, but knew what Naruto was holding back; though Naruto seemed to be fighting with himself over if he wanted to tell her his secret or not.

All that was holding him back was an ingrained fear she would hate him and leave him broken hearted after hearing the truth. The Toad Sannin had a feeling that Alice was in the same boat as Naruto. This both amused and frustrated him at the same time. Amused him because the two wouldn't dare leave each other alone like that but both feared the other would. It frustrated him because he knew it was how others treated the two in the past that caused them to be this fearful of opening up to others.

He had figured out some things about Alice form what she said and what she didn't say. He figured she lost her family at a young age because she never said anything about them where she wasn't a little girl and spoke about them in the past tense. He was glad that she didn't seem to be fueled by revenge, unlike a certain Uchiha, though she had a definite inner darkness to her that only someone trained and experienced at reading people could see. He also could tell the event had impacted her life greatly and was probably the cause for her unique behavior.

After a few minutes, Jiraiya started to think of how best to introduce Alice to Konoha and get Tsunade, the fifth Hokage, to welcome the young woman into the village and become a part of the ninja force. Alice said she wanted to support herself and help out the village where Naruto stayed and hopefully she would stay while in this world.

He had to agree that she could be useful to the village though he wasn't sure how much since she was technically Naruto's summon. He figured this would make it easier to get her in to the village, though she would probably have to be on a team with Naruto, since it wouldn't do well for her to be on a mission with some other team only for Naruto to summon her when he is in a direr situation. He hoped this wasn't something that would happen much but it was still a possibility. He then thought that it could also be good if she was allowed to work with others and the two worked something out about summoning. This would allow her to help the village out and get people used to her and by coincidence learn to accept Naruto finally.

Jiraiya sighed to himself deciding to give the topic a rest for the moment; they still had sometime before they returned to Konoha after all. He wondered how their training was going as he decided to do some 'research' nearby. He made sure they were close to a town this time in case he needed to reach them fast. However he also felt relieved since Naruto after all could summon Alice if he needed help for some reason and the two working together managed to force an Akatsuki member to retreat. He still wished he could use that in one of his books. It was a dream come true for any man to have a beautiful girl they could summon whenever they wanted to fight by his side or do other things.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto was off training by himself and thought about if he could somehow dismiss Alice. Not necessarily back to her home in London but to where she would stay in Konoha once they returned, or wherever else she was prior to the summoning. He thought about how he usually dismissed toads and decided that he would do that, just instead use the modified hand seal he had to use for Summoning Alice. He didn't need her there to practice it fortunately to know if he got it right. There was a feel to summoning jutsus each summon had a distinct feel to it as well as the Summon dismiss jutsu for each type of summon.

The dismiss he used when he first tried sending Alice back was for a generic summon dismissal. Now that he thought about the dismissing jutsu he felt stupid about trying to dismiss Alice like he does a toad. At least he knew that he tried it more out of desperation than anything, so he wasn't actually stupid. He focused on the feeling of Alice's summoning. It was a serene and warm feeling that had just a small hint of darkness to it, but the darkness wasn't terrifying or scary. "She really is special isn't she? Her summoning is just as original and distinct as she is herself." Naruto said to himself.

As he searched for the right feeling and focused on it, he was thinking about the Dark haired girl just a couple of years older than him. Despite being a little older she seemed to be very similar to him. He didn't really see her as an older girl, he saw her as Alice. Someone different from any other person he knew. She was nice, polite and she cared for both him and Jiraiya even if she didn't always show it. He also knew she had experienced things in her life that made her treasure the bonds she had forged with them in the past two months. It was similar to how he also treasured the bonds he had formed with his fellow ninjas and friends.

He thought about their time together and was surprised how they both seemed to get to know each other quickly. He figured the fact they were with each other this whole time without missions and stuff allowed them to build a stronger bond. He would say, despite all the time he spent with Sakura and Sasuke as classmates and later teammates, Alice seemed to know him better than they did. He still thought of Sasuke and Sakura as family and precious people, but he noticed he seemed to be getting closer to Alice than he was with those two.

Naruto wanted to tell her everything, but he was also a bit fearful she would see him differently afterwards. He could take the hatred of the villagers and the distant relationships with others that didn't already know what happened to him. For some reason though he didn't think he could take her rejecting him and thinking him a monster. At the same time, he was eager to tell her and hoped she wouldn't hate him. If she didn't hate him or shy away after learning the truth he knew she would become his strongest bond he possibly had.

He had come to realize that what he felt for Sakura wasn't the love he mistook it for at first. He cared deeply for her and she was important to him, but he now knew the two of them would be more than family but not in a romantic relationship way. He wasn't sure what he and Alice had but he felt there was a lot more chance for actual love with them than with him and Sakura.

He was a little sad but also relieved realizing this. He also hated to say it but he felt pain, knowing that Sakura would always love Sasuke not him despite seeing things between them for what they were. He knew Sakura saw him as a friend and teammate now but nothing more, and despite starting to move on it still hurt.

He finished finding Alice's summoning's feeling. He then figured out how it would feel to dismiss her. Once he had that he attempted the dismiss jutsu for Alice. It took him several tries but he managed to get it just right. He was excited that he figured this out. He performed the jutsu several times making sure he had it right. "Yatta!" He shouted in his enthusiasm as he decided to summon Alice and show her.

He finally calmed down and performed the hand seals and shouted, "Summoning no Jutsu!" He watched as her blue smoke and butterflies appeared in front of him a little bit away. Once they were gone his jaw fell open in shock…

{-} {-} {-}

Alice was training by herself and decided she would try some of her Wonderland abilities. Jiraiya spoke to her after she said she wanted to help Konoha the best way she could while she stayed there. He told her about how her shrink would be amazing and great for getting Intel, something that would really help out the village of Konoha. She was eager to be anything but a burden or a normal guest of Konoha. She felt that if she had to stay here for who knows how long she would find a way to fit in rather than just be someone they had to watch over.

She focused on how she shrank in Wonderland and how she grew back to normal size. After all she needed to do both if she wanted to be useful. She could still help infiltrate if she was stuck small but what was the point of that if she no longer could do anything else.

She remembered what it was like to shrink and how the drink's energy kept flowing through her body while she was in Wonderland. During her more recent trek through Wonderland she realized that most of her abilities where not drinks or things like that but types of energies that she harnessed and used when fighting.

After focusing on the 'shrink' energy, she decided to call it; she figured how it was made and how it could be used. She practiced making it for a few minutes. Once she had the process for making it down she practiced using this energy herself.

This part was difficult, but none the less she was finally able to use it correctly. Before she knew it she shrank to only a few centimeters tall. She jumped up and down excitedly for a few seconds happy with her success. Soon she realized however that she had forgotten to figure out how to grow back to normal size again before trying it out. Fortunately, for her it was rather simple to grow back, she just stopped using the shrink energy. Once she was back to full size she let out a sigh of relief. "I am glad that turned out easier than shrinking and far less exhausting." She said to herself.

"Alright. Next item on the list; floating!" she proclaimed before getting on top of a nearby rock. She saw a branch nearby that she could jump up to before trying to float down. She smiled to herself as she remembered once again her sister's comment on how she must be part frog since she jumps so well.

Once she jumped and landed on the branch gracefully she jumped up one more branch, and casually walked to the branch's edge. She laughed to herself at how she must have marvelous balance if she walks on a thin branch without breaking it. She took a look at the ground below; it would hurt if she couldn't float but not too badly. She still felt a bit nervous with this plan. She breathed in and held her breath for a few second before releasing it, "Well they say nothing ventured, nothing gained. Somehow I think Cheshire would say something along the lines of, 'Yes, but they never say what you will gain.'" She did her best imitation of the cat, which was surprisingly good.

She waited for a couple more seconds before jumping off the branch. She then without meaning to, double jumped as she thought _"Great this will be even more painful!"_ As she began to descend she willed herself to float like in Wonderland squeezing her eyes tight in fear. To her amazement and relief, she felt herself start to float. As she got closer to the ground she did another midair jump and then floated to the ground and landed gracefully with lavender colored wind and green butterflies floating below her as she touched down on one foot with her hair fanned out behind her.

Once fully on the ground Alice glowed with elation that she could multi jump and float here. "It must have something to do with this chakra energy stuff." The green eyed beauty said to no one in particular. She just savored the end of her rush for a minute or two before continuing.

"Well then time to see if I can change my clothes the Wonderland way." This was the real reason she wanted to train alone today. She wanted to try her different outfits from Wonderland if she could use them, since they each had different effects; some she thought could be very handy in this world.

Also, though Naruto and Jiraiya didn't seem to have a problem wearing the same outfit day in and day out over and over again. She was not particularly thrilled with this concept. She liked her blue dress plenty but it got, boring always wearing it. She wanted a little variety in her clothing choices. She also didn't really want to try this out in front of either Naruto or Jiraiya. Especially in front of Jiraiya, she couldn't get on his case if she willingly exploded her clothing in front of him, super pervert or not.

This is why she waited until she was sure they wouldn't see her. She knew Jiraiya at first sometimes watched her train from afar hidden in the trees after she first joined with them. She couldn't blame him for this, she was an unknown quantity. He had stopped doing this a month ago finally trusting her not to try anything. She breathed in and said, "Alright time to get this done with!" She then closed her eyes and started getting ready for her experiment, not noticing the familiar tug of Naruto's, summoning her. She was just ready to do it when she vanished.

{-} {-} {-}

"Summoning no Jutsu!" Naruto watched as Alice's familiar smoke cleared away. But right when it cleared away there was another burst of blue smoke and butterflies. Naruto's jaw dropped as he saw Alice standing before him in nothing but a white lacy bra with matching panties and her stockings. He was also over powered by her wonderful scent, as if her dress had contained it on her person, but now it burst forth as her dress did.

He got a nose bleed from the sight before him. Alice's skin was milky and smooth looking. Her slim frame really complemented her breasts and her hips had just the right amount of curvature.

Alice opened her vivid green eyes to see Naruto staring right at her. They widened and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She quickly jumped back and did what she could to cover herself. She panicked looking around quickly; hoping Jiraiya wasn't there as well. Thankfully he wasn't.

She then blushed a deeper red and said loudly, "Naruto! What did I say about being careful when summoning me?!" Naruto flinched expecting to be hit with the hobby horse or something.

He quickly closed his eyes and turned away before apologizing loudly to her, "I'm sorry Alice-chan! I didn't think it would matter I swear! I didn't know you would appear like this!"

Alice looked down and blushed more when they both heard a low rumbling, yet sophisticated laugh coming from a branch behind her. "Ha ha ha! Oh Alice I had no idea you were into such… exotic fashions? Another remnant of your training with the _good_ doctor perhaps?"

Alice forgot her embarrassment for anger that Cheshire chose now of all times to show up. She spun around to gaze at the cat with fierce green eyes. Several emotions playing across them: excitement, happiness, near betrayal, sadness, anger and forgiveness. She then stood there with her arms folded across her chest leaning back as she said, "Originally yes, but this bra and panty set is the design here for underwear. _He_ said at the time a friend of his designed them, and only select clientele were allowed access to them. However, he failed to specify what kind of people were 'select'. Where have you been these last two months cat?"

Naruto couldn't help but look hearing Cheshire was back. He forgot Alice's current state of dress or lack thereof. He couldn't help but take in every detail of her backside once it re-registered again. Her dark hair, which went just below her shoulders, her slim waist, and her butt were perfect he decided. He then realized what he was doing and closed his eyes again.

Cheshire saw Naruto check out Alice and he let another laugh go before answering the girl. "I was looking into something dear Alice. You should know by now I only disappear if there is something important to do. I would like to catch up with you privately though. No doubt you have words you wish to say away from other people's ears to me. Once you are properly dressed. We can start discussing."

Alice's embarrassment returned in full force and she quickly envisioned her blue dress once again. Once it appeared her anger had subsided and she turned back to Naruto who was still trying to not look. She sighed and said to him, "Sorry Naruto. I was just embarrassed. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known what I was doing. Anyways, we can discuss things after I finish talking to Cheshire. May I ask why you summoned me in the first place? I don't think it is because you just felt like it."

Naruto let lose a breath, scratched the back of his head and said to her, "Heh heh… Sorry Alice. I found out I can dismiss you back to where I summoned you from. Not London mind you, but for instance the place you were just at. You mentioned that it would be inconvenient to be summoned to help out quickly and then have to make a long trip back to wherever you end up staying. I figured it out and got excited so I summoned you to tell you the good news and then dismiss you back."

Alice raised an eyebrow and then sighed again. "I appreciate the thought Naruto. I am just sorry it ended up this way. Anyways if you don't mind can you send me back? The cat will find me there."

Naruto nodded and Alice gave him a soft smile, and said, "Thanks Naruto."

He then made the signs and intoned, "Dismiss Alice!" She then vanished in a puff of blue smoke and butterflies silently.

Naruto worried what she would say to him once she talked to him later, at the moment though he was thinking two things. The first was, _"Damn! She's hot! Oh I wish I could have seen more… Stupid Hormones she is probably going to kill me for seeing her in her p-p-panties…"_ The second thought was, _"It's weird but cool how her summoning and dismissing is completely silent. Usually there is a loud pop."_

{-} {-} {-}

Alice found herself in her training spot once again. She stood there for a few seconds waiting for Cheshire to appear. Soon enough she heard him say, "Well you sure were eager to speak with me again. I was thinking you might speak to blonde boy for a bit after that incident. I figured there wouldn't be much left of him knowing your temper. But it seems you know restraint for those you consider friends at least."

Alice replied, "I couldn't very well blame him for seeing me explode my clothing. It was merely bad luck or something that he chose to summon me at that time. But more importantly." She inhaled and then asked forcefully, "Where have you been cat?! You just left without saying anything. I know you did that in Wonderland but you knew everything going on there. Even if you refused to share. Here I thought maybe you would be more tolerable since neither of us know much about this place…" She was fuming by the end of her tirade.

Cheshire gave a self-satisfied grin and replied smugly, "Oh Alice. If I were to guess, I would think you actually missed my company. Well it seems I did just guess."

Alice tried to hide her blush from the cat. The truth was she did miss him. She even missed him greatly. She wasn't sure, nor wished to think, what would have happened to her if Naruto and Jiraiya weren't there at least. She looked at him and said, "Maybe I did. This isn't Wonderland or London and apart from Naruto and Jiraiya you are the only one I know in this world."

Cheshire stopped his grin and looked at her seriously before saying. "I am sorry that my temporary departure troubled you Alice. However, know this. I had good reason for leaving. There was something that I wanted to look into. I also learned many things of this world. It would seem that our summoning here coincides with turbulent times to come, revolving around our friend Naruto. What do you know of it already?"

"Naruto filled me in on Akatsuki as much as he dared at least. He also told me briefly about what happened before this journey they are on. He didn't tell me everything, but I could tell there was more than he said to this whole affair. We talk a good bit but I have held some stuff back and so has he." She then continued telling Cheshire everything else she learned from her two traveling mates.

Once she finished she looked at her feline friend to see if he would add anything. He did.

"I know a few more things than that. But it isn't my place to discuss them. I did learn about this chakra stuff and it seemed similar if not entirely the same as what you have in Wonderland. The fact that you can… what was it you called it?" He gave his grin once again before continuing, "Ahhh… yes 'Explode' your clothing. This makes me think that you can change into any of your outfits. Which I am sure you are pleased with since you prefer variety and dislike the mundane when avoidable. I think you can do much more than that though. You might be able to use these jutsus they have here in some fashion. I also found out that I can be more useful to you here Alice. I can show you that you are not the only one of us that can fight."

Alice thought about this 'sparring' she had heard about from Naruto and Jiraiya. She hadn't sparred with them since she didn't have much skill in unarmed combat, though she wanted to try it. "Ohhh… I was wanting to try some practice fighting. I am curious if I can use _that _move here." She gave a bit of a wicked smile as she got in a ready stance.

"Ha hah haaa. Well I shall do what I can to keep you on your edge and give you the chance to use your Hysteria without actual threat. I will warn you though Alice. I am good. And I would prefer that we don't aim to intentionally maim one another." Cheshire returned her wicked grin with his own.

Alice was a bit surprised. She didn't think that he could be actually hurt anymore. _"I suppose on second thought it only makes sense…. I did see him die once. Brought him back but he still died. I don't think that will be something repeatable in this world." _She darkly thought to herself. The surrounding area seemed to become grayer than it was seconds ago.

The two stared at each other before Alice said, "Agreed Cat. I don't want to be more of a burden on Naruto than I am already… Begin." With that the two dashed at each other quickly.

Once they closed in on one another, Cheshire swiped out very sharp claws towards Alice who managed to block them. After that he disappeared and reappeared behind her back. He managed to slash her back but not too deeply. He cut her dress and did break the skin but it was only bad enough to be temporary damage that would heal just fine.

She managed to dodge his second attack and get some space between them. She hadn't expected him to attack like that. But she was a quick learner as always and would not let him intentionally strike her back again. She attacked again being more wasteful then usual with her attacks. After all the whole point of this spar, was to wear her down to see if she could use her trump card.

They kept attacking each other moving faster and growing more vicious as they continued fighting. Neither of the two were used to restraining their selves in combat, especially Cheshire since he had never fought much before. He had taken the liberty to do some 'hunting' while he was on his information journey, but that was about it. He saw Alice close in on him and she attacked with her Vorpal Blade. He couldn't dodge the move; fortunately she purposely attacked sooner so that if it struck she would only cause minor damage.

Cheshire dashed forward after the attack and right as she slashed again he vanished and reappeared behind her head and lashed out with his claws. His claws hit nothing but air and Alice attacked from behind with her croquet mallet.

He got out of the way only to be hit with an electrified croquet ball. Fortunately it wasn't a very powerful one. The hit knocked him back none the less though. He vanished and popped back a few yards away and said, "I forgot that thing had a secondary attack. I wonder why you couldn't use it on our second trip along with your other more powerful weapons."

"It didn't cross my mind to use them. I had other things to worry about and had forgotten many things. You know this…." Alice replied darkly. The events still remained in her mind to some extent. She preferred it that way. She wasn't going to forget again, if she could help it.

"My apologizes, for the insensitive remark. But we still have business don't we?" Quipped Cheshire. He then swung his claws in the air resulting in what looked like a wave of energy shooting towards Alice. She moved to the side but misjudged the attack's arc. She took some damage along with her dress. "I do hope if I resummon the outfit it will be whole once again." She said with a small sigh to herself.

She then butterflied quickly towards the cat sending her blade singing through the air. Cheshire thought he dodged the attack despite its speed. Once he saw playing cards being thrown at him he knew the first attack was a feint. He was clipped on the shoulder feeling just how sharp their edges were.

The two continued attacking even more brutally than before. Finally Alice was breathing hard and sporting many lite cuts on her body. Her dress had tears in several places, some more revealing than others. Cheshire was in bad shape as well, he sent another arc of energy at her followed by a quick second one that was wider. Alice dodged the first but didn't fully escape the second wave. She went flying a good bit but recovered. Cheshire was already attacking again, he sprang forward fast and was aimed right at Alice.

She looked up and had enough of this spar. She let him land the hit knowing it would be all it took for her to use it. Cheshire was surprised when his attack landed but only for a moment. He figured out what she was doing.

Alice let lose a shrill and terrifying muted echoing scream as a shock-wave was unleashed from her, blasting Cheshire back. The world seemed to have shifted to monochrome. Everything except Alice seemed to be in slow motion. She darted around quickly testing her speed and could feel the difference in speed and power. She also knew she was for the moment invincible. The girl could also tell when this mode would end. The effects seemed to be far reaching and a sense of dread and traumatizing terror hung in the air.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto was training when he thought he heard a scream and reality seemed to have warped in a way. During this whole time he was moving slower than he should have been and he felt the ends of a shock-wave pass by him knocking him to the ground. Once he got up he immediately moved as fast as he could to the epicenter of the shock-wave fearing the worst for Alice. Not even thinking to summon her and see if she was alright.

Finally things returned to normal and he made his way to her. "You better be alright Alice I am not going to lose you; especially so soon after meeting you!" He said aloud as he moved even faster than he did even while fighting towards the green-eyed girl's location.

{-} {-} {-}

Jiraiya was walking back from researching since it would soon be time for their supper, when he felt something very strange and wrong with reality. Everything looked black and white, as if the color scale was washed away. He also felt a sense of dread around him. He started to pick up his pace deciding to check the camp first cursing his choice to go further away than he originally planned. "Damn it! Those kids… what did they do while I was gone?" The toad sage cursed out loud as he made his way.

{-} {-} {-}

Once her Hysteria mode ended, Alice turned back to how she was before and collapsed to the ground breathing really hard and feeling the pain from her shallow wounds. She also felt more drained and tired than she had after testing the jabberwocky eye staff. She managed to look up and see Cheshire head her way looking a bit concerned. She give a soft smile and said weakly, "Experiment successful. It is very tiring though. I definitely won't use it unless I have no other choice." She managed to sit herself up and asked, "How are you holding up cat?"

Cheshire gave her a look and said, "I have been better. But do not fret young Alice I will heal alright. How about yourself?

She stood up and had enough energy to explode her clothes and summon her Late but Lucky dress. She started to heal right away but slowly. "I will be okay. I must say you are very good." She then yawned and sat herself back down.

Right when she sat back down by falling on her butt, Naruto appeared looking ready to attack. He saw Alice wearing a different outfit. This outfit had a white button up dress with a dark red and gold Waistcoat. She had a black top hat with Rabbit ears and her boots looked like rabbit feet instead. She also seemed to be wearing clawed gloves and a red neck scarf. Her bow was now pink with rabbit feet and a bunny tail. On the front she had a gold pocket watch.

Naruto looked at her face, she still had her beautiful green eyes but they seemed tired, she also had light purple eye shadow now. He would have thought she looked cute in this outfit if he wasn't concerned for her after what he had felt. He hoped down by her side and asked, "Are you ok Alice-chan? I thought I heard you scream and then some strange things happened."

Alice was shocked that her Hysteria mode reached so far. She replied to him softly, "I am Naruto. Sorry I worried you. I was experimenting with some things. I had to test my limits to see what I can do." She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before slowly exhaling.

Naruto was still worried for her. "Are you sure Alice? You look really tired." He looked at her with his deep blue eyes.

Alice momentarily got lost in his eyes; she shook her head to clear it and replied, "I am Naruto. I sparred with Cheshire here and we both attacked full out but not with the intention to truly harm. I took some cuts and got some bruises but I am good now. I am wearing my Late but Lucky Dress from Wonderland, it heals me. I can feel the healing as we speak it make take a little time but I won't receive any lasting harm. I won't even scar. As for what I was trying. It is a sort of last resort but I needed to know if I could use it. This time there is no need to worry about it. In the future though if I use Hysteria it will be in a dire situation, so I appreciate how quickly you got here."

Naruto relaxed a bit but still wasn't satisfied with the situation. "Don't use that again Alice if you can help it. Ok?"

Alice gave a bit of a quirky smile before answering, "Yes, my master." She then gave a giggle as Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head nervously, "You don't need to call me that Alice." It made him feel a little perverted.

"If you say so, I might do it sometimes anyways just to keep you on edge." Alice replied and then seriously said, "Like I said though… I won't use it unless I really have to Naruto."

He looked into her green eyes and drank them in for a bit before standing up and getting ready to get back to camp. He was sure Jiraiya would be on his way there from wherever he went. "Well I should get to camp Jiraiya will probably be throwing a fit once he gets there if he felt that as well. Are you coming Alice?"

Alice was about to stand up, despite needing a little more recovery since she didn't want Naruto to see her as weak, when a paw rested on her shoulder and a very debonair voice answered for her, "Sorry Naruto, but I need to discuss some other things with her a bit. Do be so kind, as to go and tell Jiraiya she will be along shortly will you?"

Alice then said, "If you two want you can go ahead and get the ingredients for supper. Get more than normal since Cheshire will be staying and I'm feeling more peckish than usual."

Naruto gave a smile, nodded and waved goodbye as he went to the camp. Once he was gone Cheshire frowned at Alice and said to her, "They do care for you Alice as you do them. I think you should tell Naruto of your past at least if not also Jiraiya."

Alice frowned at him and irritably said to him while the surrounding atmosphere darkened unnaturally, "Ohhh?! And how am I supposed to go about doing that cat?! Hey guys I know I haven't told you everything about my past so here it is. When I was 9 my family died and my house burned down. For 7 years I blamed myself for their deaths and spent that time in an insane asylum, where I underwent horrible, demeaning and inhumane 'treatments' all for the sake of curing me. Once I finally went into Wonderland inside my own head and fought the queen of hearts and her card guards along with several over enemies I was released."

She took a breath and continued, "After that I was sent to Houndsditch Home for Wayward Youth where a doctor had me do chores meant for a housewife or maid to pay for my room and board. While at the same time training me, without my knowing, into being a prostitute he could pimp out to esteemed clients that wanted something more seasoned than his usual merchandise. He almost made me into a desperate mad woman willing to do anything asked in hopes she could forget, momentarily her horrifying and traumatic past."

She took another breath and finished her tirade, "Ohh! Also did I mention that I was, that whole year living content and comfortable with the man that raped and killed my sister upstairs while I was cowering downstairs afraid of the noises I was hearing? This man also was the one that locked my room door before setting the house on fire, resulting in my parents burning to death in a blaze from hell while pleading for me to open the door and leave with them. I didn't so they finally told me to just save myself." Alice looked down once she finished.

Cheshire frowned and said to her, "I wouldn't have handled it in such a way but you will have to tell them eventually. Especially if you want to stay in Konoha with Naruto and help them out. You do try too hard to be dramatic Alice. You can tell them in a better fashion than that. If you don't then I am sorry to say you might scare them. Though I think you might be in for just as much of a shock if Naruto tells you his story."

Alice sighed and breathed in and out a few times as she calmed down and the atmosphere returned to normal. "Sorry Cheshire I know you meant to help. It is just… I have been dreading telling the truth, while at the same time eagerly wanting them to know. Why do things like this have to be difficult?"

Cheshire gave a small chuckle and answered her rhetorical question, "If something is worth doing it is seldom easily done." He then stood up getting ready to head to the camp and turned to Alice saying, "I think you have more to gain here than lose by telling Naruto and Jiraiya. Come now Alice lets us get back to your camp."

Alice got up feeling better, a bit tired, but not nearly as bad as she was before. She stretched and then changed in an explosion of butterflies and blue smoke into her blue dress. Which she was happy to see, was in proper condition once again.

The two headed back to camp. Alice had decided she would speak to Naruto about her past if supper was a quick affair. It was still early in the evening with plenty of time to talk. Little did she know a certain Blonde had come to a similar conclusion.

* * *

A/N: In case anyone feels that they are moving fast I am sorry. The way I figure it Naruto and Alice could tell they were similar to each other, so they want to have a deeper friendship or more, with one another. Also Alice has been through a lot of hell and she is very much alone now. She doesn't have a mission to focus on, like figuring out how her family really died anymore. She has dealt with all of that stuff and now she wants to actually open up some to others. Also the two have been spending most of two months traveling together and talking about many things. This means they have more actual time with someone than they usually do for casual conversation and getting to know the other better.


	3. Revelations

Title: Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: I don't owe Naruto or American Mcgee's Alice. Well Actually I own a copy of the game but that is it.

* * *

Chapter 3: Revelations

Naruto arrived in the camp just in time to see Jiraiya looking around frantically. "Hey Ero-Sannin. What's up?" The white haired man looked at Naruto partially relieved. "Where is Alice, Naruto?" He asked still a little worried. Naruto smiled and said, "Don't worry she is ok. She was testing her limits in this world and that is what you felt earlier. She said this time it was nothing to worry about. Usually, she uses that as a last ditch effort though. She claimed she won't use that again unless she has no other choice."

Jiraiya sighed in relief; he still planned on getting a fuller explanation from the girl though. The sage then asked, "Where is she now though?" realizing Naruto hadn't answered his question.

"She had to take care of something else but should be along soon. She asked that we go ahead and get ingredients for supper. She said to get extra since she was unusually 'peckish' after training today." Naruto said grinning to himself wanting to see how Jiraiya would react to Cheshire. The two then quickly went to get food stuff for tonight's supper. They were having fish again it had been awhile since she last cooked fish and they were hungry for it again.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice finally entered the camp to see Naruto and Jiraiya placing some more ingredients for the fish on their make shift table. Cheshire had disappeared, he decided to wait and make a show of his entrance. He did very much enjoy making an entrance.

Naruto had a clone of his working on descaling the fish to save Alice a little time. Also he figured if he helped out she would be more agreeable once he told her of his past. Naruto knew it was a big gamble. He wasn't sure what he would do if Alice ended up hating him and calling him 'Demon' or something similar. At the same time he couldn't stand not telling her though. He didn't notice that Alice was equally troubled for similar reasons.

She went over to the fish already descaled and started cutting the fillets. It was nice to have supper to keep her mind focused on before the talk she was going to have with Naruto.

Jiraiya was wondering what was up with the two. They seemed awfully quite, there seemed to be some tension as well. He finally voiced his concern, "Hey are you two alright? You two seem to be really quite."

"You noticed did you? Well let's just say that Alice 'exploded' in front of Naruto earlier, and it left her a bit more exposed than she wished." Said a deep sophisticated voice from behind Jiraiya causing the sannin to jump in surprise and pull out a kunai. He didn't see the slight Blushes on Naruto's and Alice's faces.

As The Toad Sage turned around he saw the most unnerving grin he had ever seen before, on a very terrifying looking cat. The cat was skeletal looking with bones visible through his gray skin with what looked like tribal tattoos covering his body and glowing yellow eyes. The cat screamed dangerous and could talk. Jiraiya looked at the cat and said, "Are you a summon of some kind? Who sent you? Where did you come from? What do you want?!"

Cheshire kept grinning and replied with a deep rumbling laugh, "Me, a summon? I guess I am in a way. I am known as Cheshire cat, my good sir. As for who sent me…" the cat disappeared and reappeared by Alice's side before continuing, "Little Alice did. I am a sort of ever present companion of hers. This being the case I am from Wonderland. What I want is nothing more than to spend a little time here and maybe have a delicious fish."

Jiraiya dropped his guard but kept a wary eye on the cat as he said. "You will have to pardon me for not believing so easily. I can't truly tell if you are hostile or not. Even so if you are with Alice how come I am just now meeting you?"

Cheshire grinned and said, "The opinions of a well-known Super Pervert matter not to me. I am only hostile when Alice is in a very disagreeable mood with the world. I have been busy looking into things and that is why our meeting was delayed." The cat grinned some more and then said to Alice, "My Alice, cooking for your friends? You seem to be making good use of your _training_."

"Shut it cat. If you want any food." Alice replied tersely.

Jiraiya was thinking about the creature's words. "What do you mean Well-known Super Pervert?"

Cheshire was staring hungrily at the fish and didn't even bother to spare a glance as he replied, "There are wanted posters of you on some of the nearby bath houses. And even guards ready to ambush if you dare to steal a peak. Honestly, one would think based on your overtly perverted manner that you have yet to feel the touch of woman."

Jiraiya frowned and said, "I have too felt the touch of a woman!" Naruto tried not to laugh and Alice was trying not to either.

Cheshire gave him a questioning glance before saying, "I don't count being hit in the face by their fist as being touched by them. Why so quick to defend yourself Jiraiya-san?"

Jiraiya sweat dropped and said, "They've kicked me too…"

Cheshire simply replied, "I stand corrected then. Not many would consider that a plus though. Perhaps you are a Masochist?"

Alice quipped to Cheshire, "Cat it isn't nice to bully others. I hear that Masochism is indeed a social problem not taken lightly. Also we shouldn't make fun of the romantically challenged; just like we shouldn't for the socially challenged either. I believe they are considered a protected group in some places."

Jiraiya face faulted at that response. "Am I really that bad?" He then shed overly dramatic fake tears.

"Well…" Said Alice with a finger pressed on her red lips. "You do at least have your health. That is what they say right?"

Jiraiya continued his fake crying as he muttered to himself, "Kids have No respect…."

Naruto burst out laughing unable to contain it anymore as he said, "Come on Ero-sannin you have to admit you walked right into that." Alice laughed a bit as well while Cheshire just grinned.

Once the laughter stopped and supper was almost ready, Alice said, "Naruto. After supper I wish to speak to you in private, if you don't mind."

Naruto turned serious and said, "Sure Alice. There is something that I have been meaning to tell you anyways."

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he asked concernedly, "Are you sure you want to do that Naruto?"

The blonde just nodded to him, as Alice served everyone. Supper was a quite affair that evening, but the food was delicious as always.

{-} {-} {-}

Once they had finished their meal and cleaned up, both Alice and Naruto walked off into the forest away from camp together, leaving Jiraiya with a still grinning cat.

Jiraiya was hoping that the cat would just stay silent and look the other way. Somehow he was sure if the cat disappeared again like before it would be worse for his nerves.

Cheshire had other plans though. He turned to the white haired man and said to him, "Now that the young ones are busy with their talk that will probably last a good while, as I am sure you know. I have some questions to ask a master at summoning and sealing. I first wish to apologize if Alice and I may have seriously offended you with our wit earlier. We are strangers in this land and haven't had many chances to make acquaintances and friends before. While the two of us enjoy a little back and forth I know others may not. Also Alice only has you and Naruto to base social interactions on in this world for now. And she does honestly care greatly for you two." The cat then gave a semblance of a bow to the sage.

Jiraiya gave a smile and said, "I know I may play the idiot but I am more aware than others believe. I could tell the girl is similar to Naruto in a way. She seems to have been alone most of her life and witnessed things a girl her age should not. I am also made of sterner stuff than others. So what is it? If I may ask, you wish to know about Cheshire?"

The cat stopped grinning and only smiled. It was still a bit creepy but not as much as that too wide of a grin that even Naruto couldn't equal. "How exactly does summoning work? And what are the seals used for it, if you don't mind sharing your wisdom."

Jiraiya smiled brightly as he started, "Well you see in most cases for summoning there are a few things required before one can practice it…"

{-} {-} {-}

Alice finally stopped in a very green clearing with an opening in the canopy to the early twilight sky, thinking how to tell her story, and hoping Naruto won't hate her and think her nothing more than a raving mad woman. She was mad but she wasn't a complete lost cause. She just had a lot happen to her and it left marks on her, not physically but mentally and emotionally. She continued looking up and breathing deeply letting the forest air fill her lungs.

Naruto stood back a bit gazing at Alice as she looked up at the sky and breathed deeply steeling his nerves. _ "She really is beautiful. I hope she still likes me as a friend after I tell her. Well might as well get this done with."_ Naruto said, "Alice I know you wanted to talk about something private but I wish to go first if you don't mind. What I have to say is very important and few know about it in my village that haven't been around for a good while. Even those that do know about it aren't allowed to talk about it to others unless they wish to chance death."

Alice was actually caught off guard hearing Naruto. She could only nod as he beckoned her to take a seat. "Remember how Jiraiya told you the tale of the god of the Shinobi that one night shortly after you joined us?" Alice simply nodded to him as she took a seat and let him continue.

Naruto took a deep breath and then went on, "As you know there were nine tailed beasts total. Each of them very powerful and dangerous. They were all eventually sealed away either by power hungry ninja villages or to protect the people from the tailed beasts."

Alice said, "Into people right? Jinchuriki since they can't be sealed into something inanimate." She wanted to show that she had been paying attention to what all they said even if she was busy playing with her weapons while they walked and talked on their trip.

Naruto nodded and continued, "Yes. Anyways sometimes these beasts escape or are released for whatever reason. One, the nine tailed fox, had escaped and went on a rampage destroying a large part of my village, Konoha, about 15 years ago now."

Alice's eyes went wide, "When you were just born? Is that how you lost your family?" She was thinking something else but chose not to say it.

Naruto replied, "Yes Alice that is when I lost my parents. It is also when as a last ditch effort the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze gave his life to save the village. To do so, he called forth the Shinigami and used a very advanced seal to place the fox inside a new born child." Naruto grew silent for a bit letting it sink in before continuing.

Alice gasped. She wasn't sure what to say. She was putting the pieces together and now had the puzzle almost solved. She wouldn't interrupt Naruto though.

Naruto was looking at the ground and finished, "I was the new born child he sealed the fox into. I have to keep him at bay every day to protect my home. He tries to tempt me to release him but I don't plan to. However, the sealing had some side effects as well. I told you my whisker marks are birth marks; that is half true since I got them at birth pretty much. I got them once he was sealed inside of me. I also have heighted senses by just a little bit and I have faster healing than most without the aid of a rabbit dress." He hoped that would maybe lighten the mood a little bit.

He continued not really being able to stop, "Most of the villagers see me as the Kyuubi. They hunted me sometimes, but mostly they just ignore me or send glares at me and tell their children not to go near me. They say I am a horrible evil person that only harms others. Despite this I still want to become Hokage to protect them and those I hold precious. I don't know why I was chosen but I won't let myself fail the Fourth Hokage, my hero."

He kept going more while Alice watched and took in all he said. _"That is why he is similar to me. He lost everything and is hated by others. He has had it tougher than I have."_ The green-eyed girl thought to herself. She continued listening.

"I haven't really told anyone this. I think a few have figured it out though. I was mostly alone growing up. I was alone until I turned 6 years old and grew up in an orphanage. They kicked me out and then I met the third Hokage who helped me the best he could and was like a grandfather to me. I was scared to tell you Alice because I feared you would see me differently. I thought you might see me like the villagers do as the 'Demon Brat'."

He then looked at the ground and thought maybe he should run away before things got worse when he felt Alice touch his shoulder warmly as she gave him a little hug and said softly to him. "I do see you differently now Naruto." She felt him tense but she didn't let go and she continued, "Cheshire once told me this. 'Different denotes neither good nor bad, but it certainly means not the same…' I see you differently Naruto. But that isn't a bad thing. I see you as an even more amazing guy than I did before. To have endured such things and still you care enough to protect them. Few people would be just as strong as you Naruto and you haven't even turned 16 yet."

Naruto inhaled her scent, calming down and realizing that she wasn't going to hate him despite knowing what he has inside of him and the dangers it entails. It took all of his training and the knowledge that Alice too had something she wished to say to keep him from jumping with relief.

He was disappointed when Alice abruptly broke the hug having realized what she had done. She couldn't help but give him a hug despite maybe it being too soon for such affection. She did that to the Orphans at Houndswitch despite their usually unpleasantness towards her. She would have done so for the insane children at the asylum if they weren't likely to freak out. She had a soft spot for them, but she wasn't sure if Naruto would have appreciated it. She was a bit more confident he wouldn't hate her now, but he wasn't weak like she was. He might think her weak and pathetic after hearing her story, but she wouldn't back down, not now.

Alice's eyes grew a little tired as she got ready to tell him her tale. She looked to him to see he was concerned and she said with a ghost of a smile, "I guess I should tell you my tale now. It is the reason why I wanted to speak to you tonight after all." Naruto shifted and paid attention to her.

She let out a breath and started her tale, "I was a fortunate child growing up. My dad had a prestigious job with a very honorable school. I told you about Oxford. He was a dean there. My older sister and I didn't go to normal schooling like the other children. We were given private lessons from very brilliant teachers. We were very well off and my parents were respected by many."

Naruto looked at the dark haired beauty as he saw the loneliness in her eyes deepen, as if she was longing for those days again. He was curious how a girl that seemed to be from a family similar to Sasuke's could end up like she had. He was shocked to know he was right in thinking she came from a high class background. He listened wanting to know more about her.

She continued, "It didn't last though. My dad brought over many people from time to time. One of them was a man that took a liking to my older sister that she didn't return. Things got worse for her. She even asked Father never to allow him to come over again, soon after that, one night my house was set fire. I was locked in my room for the night and heard the blaze after some other sounds from Lizzie's room above my own. Soon my parents came and started pounding on the door asking me to come out so we could escape the fire. I was nine years old at the time and too much of a coward to do anything. Soon my dad told me with his dying breath that I should just save myself and use the window to my room which I did. No one else made it out alive."

Naruto's eyes widened. Her past was more similar to Sauske's than he first thought. She also lost her whole family after knowing and living with them, yet she was different from him. She wasn't stuck up and she didn't seem the type that would turn on those close to her for more power or focused on revenge.

Alice gazed up towards the sky and let the wind blow over her for a bit before going on with her tale. "At the time I had blamed myself for their deaths. I remembered sitting by the fire that evening in our library in the middle of the house. There were books and photographs everywhere. I didn't know if I had made sure the fire was properly put out before I left the room to go to bed. I went insane with survivor's guilt. They put me in Rutledge Asylum in London, England. I kept repeating over and over to myself that I had killed my own family that I was responsible for their deaths. People eventually started to think I had actually done it and for some reason on purpose. Soon I came from being a poor girl with a tragic past to a crazed person that killed her own family."

Naruto's eyes softened. It was similar to how everyone had disliked him for something he didn't do. He had a feeling she was just as guilty for her family's death as he was for the Fox's destruction.

Alice pressed forward, "When in the asylum they did horrible things to me. They would give me punishments to see if I would break out of my insanity. They gave me drugs and other concoctions. When I refused they would strap me down on a table and force them down my throat. They tried electrocuting me with high almost lethal voltage. When I misbehaved they would be more brutal with their punishments and 'treatments'. They came close a time or two to giving me a lobotomy." Her eyes darkened and so did the feeling to the air around her.

Naruto was starting to think it sounded like she was undergoing torture and interrogation the whole time she was at this Rutledge place. He was afraid to ask but he felt he needed to know so he could better understand her. "What is a lobotomy Alice-chan?"

Alice's eyes brightened a little bit; for some reason the '-chan' he used at the end of her name seemed to make her a bit happy. She answered him, "They restrain you and then use a small chisel and hammer to make an incision right below your eye carefully, at an angle to remove part of your brain. You will live through it, but you will be little more than an obedient and lifeless doll. Those that have gone through one aren't truly alive anymore. They have no light of life in their eyes. All they do is just obey whatever they are ordered to do. They feel no happiness, no suffering, no pain, and no pleasure."

Naruto grimaced.

She closed her eyes for a bit. "After the second time they threated to give me one I attempted to kill myself. They stopped me and threatened me with more 'treatments'. I then went into a coma. While in the coma I went back to my Wonderland I created when I was very young to find it changed. I had to literally fight a war in my mind before I finally managed to pull through. Along the way I lost friends and was betrayed by some. The friends I had created in Wonderland were now enemies except for a few. Once I fought the last battle I recovered and my friends were alive and well again. I was released having remarkably made a full recovery I was 16 at the time."

Naruto was getting ready to sigh in relief but realized there was more to her story. So he waited for her to keep going.

Alice continued, "After that I was taken under the care of Dr. Angus Bumby. He had me help out around the house with cooking, cleaning and taking care of the other children. He said since I was almost an adult and would be on my own it was time I learn the things all people should learn. He also said the chores I did would pay for my room and board. I was for the most part happier, though I was still haunted by nightmares and my memories. As a result I had sessions with him to make sure that I wouldn't slip back into madness even though everyone around me already thought I had. He said memory was more often a curse than a blessing and we should forget unproductive memories."

Naruto thought things in her story were getting better. However he remembered now how she was very keen not to forget. He had a bad feeling about where this would go.

"Despite everything and my eagerness to set my mind free, I slipped back into madness a bit and to Wonderland. Wonderland had once again changed. It was now different. Things there were beautiful but there was also ruin and pollution in places it shouldn't have been. Also the train I had created to make travel in Wonderland better was transformed into something demonic. It was running through my mind destroying everything in its path."

Alice frowned turning bitter as she went on. "I eventually discovered what had happened that night, and who was responsible for my family's deaths. I recovered all of my memories. The good and the bad ones. It was the man that my sister refused that was responsible for it. I finally confronted him…. I then shoved him into an oncoming train…"

Naruto was getting a bit anxious when he saw unshed tears of frustration, pain and sorrow in Alice's beautiful green eyes. He was about to give her a hug when she continued now sounding a bit crazed.

Alice showed a twisted grim smile as she continued, "The best part Naruto, is I was living contentedly and happily with the man that raped and killed my sister in her bedroom above mine the night of the fire, and I didn't know until then what all I had heard. He locked my door after he was done having his way with Lizzie, and burned down my house all just to cover his tracks."

She stood up and started pacing in agitation, "Something I hate even more was that he told me to my face that she wanted it that way. Said she was nothing but just a tease that pretended to be a nice and smart daughter of the Dean at Oxford. He then told me that he had been training me to be a prostitute he could lend out to anyone that wanted something different from the other children. He said there would be nothing better than to be with a beautiful well trained mad woman willing to do whatever she could to momentarily escape the horrid memory of her past. He wanted me to be someone he could show off to his high placed friends and colleagues… Oh I am sure that they would have a good laugh about it. Dean Liddell's youngest daughter there to serve them food and to have 'fun' with later if they wanted. I won't be like that! I won't forget! I have been alone since the day my parents died I don't need to be with others to survive. I will choose what I do. Those that say otherwise can die by my bla…."

She was getting close to going off more and maybe losing it completely, when she suddenly felt Naruto pull her into a tight Hug. She gasped and her eyes shot wide open as she noticed Naruto. She looked away and softened. She heard Naruto say to her, "You don't have to worry about that anymore Alice-chan. You didn't know that about him. He is gone now and you aren't alone anymore."

She stood there for a bit letting it all sink in. She returned Naruto's hug and let the tears she was holding back fall. She finally let lose the last tears she had for her family and her past.

They stayed like that for a bit and she finally said softly, "I must be pretty pathetic needing comfort from someone that had it far worse than me." She hugged him tighter. Naruto looked down at her tear streaked face and placed a kiss on the top of her head. He looked into her eyes and said to her, "You aren't weak or pathetic at all Alice-chan. You suffered continuous torture for years and were almost tricked into prostitution. Yet you made it through and now you are stronger than any girl I know." He gave her a smile and she returned it.

She then said, "Really stronger than anyone girl you know? What about Tsunade the fifth Hokage?"

Naruto gave a chuckle and said, "I said girl. I didn't say old woman. Tsunade, despite looking young, is Ero-sannin's age."

Alice gave a laugh and said, "Well then I guess, I can live with that." She then gave another laugh out of relief that Naruto wouldn't leave her because of her past.

After a while the two separated and stayed in the clearing to talk about other things, more enjoyable things before heading back to the camp.

{-} {-} {-}

"… Well Cheshire that is about all I know about the things you asked me. I hope I was able to help you. Also it was a pleasure to speak with someone so well-mannered when they want to be." Croaked a voice from an aged and small Toad.

Cheshire gave the small Toad something similar to a bow and said smoothly, "It was indeed very informative Fukasaku-sama. I hope we may sometime in the future once again meet, but in more of a social manner. I am sure young Alice will have herself a few tea parties while we stay here. The girl does enjoy them very much. I will ask her to invite you or I will invite you and you wife myself as acquaintances in the very least."

Fukasaku then returned the bow and said to the cat, "If such a gathering does occur and we have the time Shima and I would be more than happy to attend." The toad then turned to Jiraiya and said to him, "How go things with your apprentice Jiraiya-kun? Is he ready for that training yet?"

"He still needs to learn a bit before he is ready for that training. But he is on his way and faster than I thought. I think Alice has something to do with it." Replied the white haired man.

"Good to hear it. I look forward to meeting him when the time comes. So long." Fukasaku said before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

Jiraiya then turned to Cheshire and asked, "What do you plan on doing exactly?"

Cheshire grinned and replied, "Ahhh but Jiraiya-sama that would be telling. But worry not, you will learn of it all in due time my friend." The cat then vanished up into a tree for the night.

Jiraiya huffed and waited for the others to come back so he could go to bed while Naruto takes the first watch. He was secretly hoping that all went well with the two and their talk. He liked both of them and thought they had a good thing going, so he didn't want thing to get badly strained between them.

He relaxed soon when he heard the two returning together and sounding happy as they talked to the other.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice was happy things turned out well. She learned more about Naruto and Naruto had accepted her, flaws and all. They were now walking back, after Alice had just finished telling him she had just left from the London Underground, where Bumby met his end when he accidentally summoned her to this world. One thing was on her mind though and she decided to finally voice her curiosity. "Naruto I have a question if you don't mind answering me."

Naruto smiled and said, "What is it Alice-chan?"

Alice smiled and asked, "What does that –chan stuff mean? We talked about suffixes yet you never mentioned what that one meant."

Naruto paused and started to sweat a bit.

Alice continued not noticing the blonde's reaction, "I don't dislike it. In fact, I find it makes me a bit happier inside. I just wish I knew why and what it meant."

Naruto calmed down and then thought about their conversations. He deiced he would go with the truth. "It is what guys call girls they find attractive and/or feel close to… heh heh. I can stop it if you wish. Girls will call other girls they think are cute or pretty that as well. When older people call a girl that they think she is cute. This can either be as a young girl or child in their eyes, or sometimes they have impure thoughts towards her. It gets hard to tell in that case." He finished hoping she wouldn't get angry at him.

Alice heard all of this and couldn't believe what Naruto said, _"He thinks I am pretty?"_ After a few seconds she started blushing and said in a smaller voice that usual, "ok. Thanks Naruto….-kun… You can call me whichever one you want." She then looked away as her face got redder. _"I said –kun… I hope he doesn't dislike it. I do like him the way a girl does when she uses that, I think. But it feels awkward… I am not used to using that term. Maybe I should just use Naruto but in the way someone close to someone does."_

Naruto stopped dead. He was thinking, _"She called me Naruto-kun?... Does that mean? It has to…. She knows when a girl uses that for a guy… Maybe she felt she had to return the favor?" _He shook his head.

Alice noticed he wasn't moving and feared the worst but decided that she wouldn't think about it now. "Anyways, we should get back quicker no doubt Cheshire is driving your sensei insane by now or something. Also thanks for everything Naruto."

Naruto noticed the absence of the –kun that time, yet somehow the way she said his name felt deeper to him than 'Naruto-kun' would have. He really liked it. He couldn't help but smile broadly as he said, "Sure thing Alice-chan."

As they got closer to the camp Alice looked at Naruto seriously and said, "Don't tell Jiraiya about the details of our talk. I plan on telling him when the time is right. I want him to hear it first-hand rather than from you. I just need a little time to plan it. I don't want to break down in front of him like I did with you earlier." She blushed and looked away shyly.

Naruto gave her a confident smile, approached her and gave her a light encouraging hug as he said to her softly, "I understand Alice-chan. It is your story to tell not mine."

She returned the hug. She then gave him a smile and said half-jokingly, "If this keeps up then I will be hopeless in love with you before long, Naruto. If that happens I hope you are up for it. You know about the things I have been through. It won't be easy but if love happens I will do what I can to make it worth your while." She gave a suggestive giggle as they continued.

Naruto smiled for a bit but then for some reason his smile faltered. He was thinking about her 'training'. He said to her, "You know Alice. You don't have to cook for us if you don't want to. We aren't forcing you to do so or anything. I hope you don't think that we are." He looked at her with sorrowful eyes and despite his better judgment a bit of pity.

Alice stopped dead this time and looked at him and said, "It is alright Naruto. I don't mind. In fact I like it. Sure I don't like how I was trained to do those things. However, I won't forget what I learned along the way. I will use my training as I see fit. And if I want to cook all of the meals for those I have come to consider precious I see no problem with it."

Naruto kept looking at her as she continued, "Tell me this Naruto. If you trained to do something for reasons you hated. Yet you found out the things you leaned, even if originally for bad reasons, were incredibly helpful to those you hold close and dear to your heart. Would you stop using the skills just because of their origin? I personally think that it is better to take something that was once bad and reuse it for good if it is helpful, rather than simply throwing it away because of its origin."

Naruto stared at her and thought for a bit about all of his precious people and figured if he had learned something he could use well and it was helpful, he knew damn well he would use it. He looked into her beautiful green eyes and said to her, "I suppose not Alice. If I could help my precious people with something I learned from an evil source, and could use it without polluting myself. I think I would."

She gave him a sweet smile and stepped next to him before giving him a hug and saying, "Good to hear Naruto-kun. However, pity is very unbecoming of you. So please refrain from pitying me in the future." She then broke the hug and stepped back from him smiling at his reaction while thinking _"I will have to try –kun more often but I am still not sure."_

When Alice hugged him he couldn't help but take in her rich scent as he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head giving a nervous laugh.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto and Alice finally made it back to the camp. They noticed that Jiraiya and Cheshire seemed to be at least tolerating each other.

"Did the two of you have a nice talk Alice?" Cheshire said lazily from his tree branch to the dark-haired girl. He grinned since he already could tell it went well.

Alice looked at him and gave a smile, "Yes we did Cheshire." She then gave him a stern look and questioned. "You didn't give Jiraiya-san here too much trouble did you cat?"

The cat chuckled a bit and then said to her, "For your information Alice, the two of us had a rather informative and pleasant talk about different subjects."

Alice gave him a critical look and asked, "What did you two discuss? I hope it wasn't too horrible."

Cheshire grinned widely and answered the girl, "Like I said Informative and pleasant subjects. I won't bore you with the details at this time."

Alice pursed her lips and then gave a slight frown before saying to the mischievous cat, "That isn't very reassuring cat. For all I know you were the only one that enjoyed your discussion."

He just grinned in response not telling her anymore before she sighed and moved to her part of the camp.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto went to Jiraiya right away to talk to him. He approached the toad sage and inquired, "That cat didn't give you too much trouble did he Ero-sannin?"

Jiraiya scoffed at the nickname but answered nevertheless, "He wasn't that bad. His grin and presence as a whole unsettled me a bit, but he can actually be very polite when he wants to be. We had a discussion about summoning and seals. He listened intently and asked some other questions as well. It actually was enjoyable. He just likes to tease others and be very vague when asked something he doesn't want to answer."

Naruto laughed as he said to the white haired man. "Yah Alice said he is always like that. Anyways… I told her and she gave an interesting response."

Jiraiya looked at him waiting for the boy to continue but when he didn't Jiraiya pressed further, "Well go on what was it she said?"

Naruto gave a proud smile, showing that he thought he had picked well in making friends with her and hopefully more as he replied. "She said to me. 'Naruto I do see you differently now… But different denotes neither good nor bad, but it certainly means not the same.' She then said that she saw me as even more amazing than before. After that she told me her story and then we talked about other things for a bit before heading back here."

Jiraiya couldn't help himself but ask, "What did she tell you about her past?"

Naruto lost his smile and said in an even tone, "It isn't my place to tell you about her past Jiraiya. I will tell you that she plans to tell you herself. You should give her time though it isn't easy, and if you press her about it she will only get angry and become more stubborn and then probably not tell you."

Jiraiya put his hands up in defense and said, "Okay, okay. I get it. No need to bite my head off. I was just asking, a simple she will tell you when she sees fit would have done the job."

After that Jiraiya also welcomed Alice back, once she had finished talking to the cat and then he said to both of them goodnight after telling them to follow the same watch schedule as they have been for their trip.

{-} {-} {-}

After they traveled for a few more days Cheshire made his departure. He approached Alice and said to her, "I have some… business to attend to, which requires I will be away for some time. Once it is done with I will return promptly, so worry not Alice. Then you will see how useful I can truly be."

Alice frowned a bit. She wouldn't say it aloud but she had really enjoyed her feline friend's presence the past few days. She knew he was telling the truth that he had to take care of something so she said to him, "Ok Cheshire. I hope it goes well, whatever it is that you are up to. Are you sure you won't elaborate?"

The cat grinned and said to her, "In due time I will. However, now is not that time." With that she waved goodbye as he faded away leaving only his trademarked grin for a few seconds.

Jiraiya still thought it a bit creepy. Mostly because the only sound it made was small and hardly audible. He thought it unnatural, but then again when Alice was summoned or dismissed there wasn't any sound at all.

{-} {-} {-}

They kept going until they came across a rather unpleasant situation. In a forest clearing, three men were gathered around a young and timid looking girl. The girl was maybe 14 years old. The men surrounding her were easily in their mid-thirties and seemed to be hungrily staring at her.

The girl seemed to be in trouble and scared but she really wasn't. This actually was part of a mission. She was a Kunoichi from the Fuma clan in the land of sound. They were now finally on their way to becoming great once again and they were doing missions to help with problems as ninja, since Otogakure wasn't actually a true ninja village.

Jiraiya stopped to watch as did Naruto. The two seemed to recognize the girl. She had long orange hair with brown eyes. She was still even now a bit short, though she had clearly grown up a good bit and her slight tan was nice. Naruto blushed a bit remembering his first encounter with her, where he had accidentally groped one of her breasts.

The two were waiting to see what would happen and then maybe give her a quick hello or something. Alice however didn't know her and thought the three men were about to have their way with her. She hated vile people like that. So, she did what only she thought was natural. Naruto was about to say something to Alice but was too late.

Sasame had the last three members of the bandit group disrupting their trade routes right where she wanted them, and was about to make her move only to be blinded by a blue dress.

"I detest vile sorry excuses for men such as yourselves." Alice then brought her blade out and before anyone could do anything she slashed the throat of the one on the left and then the one on the right. The one in the middle jumped back and threw some shuriken at the dark haired girl who deflected them and then she butterflied right in front of him and cut his chest deeply before delivering a fatal blow to him.

Naruto and Jiraiya were just staring. Sasame was also staring in awe. She had no idea who this girl was nor what she was doing here, but the orange haired girl knew she was skilled. She was about to say something when she saw the girl throw what looked like playing cards at a seemingly random direction.

Soon a figure appeared before them and said, "Ho? You seem to have spirit girl perhaps my master would like to recruit you for his village. I knew there was a good reason to come this far away from our usual hunting grounds for new recruits." It was a man wearing an oto headband though he didn't really look much stronger than the bandits. However, Alice seemed to have been the only one to notice him, so he had good stealth skills if nothing else.

"I am guessing you were just going to stand by and watch as they had their way with this young girl? That is even more revolting in my opinion." Alice said not at all hiding the venom in her voice.

The man just laughed. He had dark tanned skin and several scars on his body with green hair. He then gave a grotesque smile and said in a menacing voice, "I thought it would be a fitting end to someone from the Fuma clan. They are all weak and they denied my master's offer of power. I would have found the sight of her rape enjoyable and then afterwards killed all of them. I will say she has a rather tasty body so maybe I would have had some fun with her as well before I finished her off."

Alice grimaced she was about to make a move when suddenly the girl behind her darted towards him and trapped his body in some kind of strange jutsu before killing him. Sasame hated all he said about her clan and it reminded her of the mistake she almost made in joining Orochimaru. Her victory was short lived however as the man she had killed turned into mud.

She tried to figure out where he was before she saw the girl vanish in butterflies and reappear by a tree and then use a horrifying weapon on it that sent the man flying from where he had merged himself with the tree. Sasame was about to attack again when she saw the blue dress girl appear by him, launch him up in the air before she then did some quick twirl jump and brought the nightmarish weapon down on top of his head hard. She then landed with her weapon hitting the ground with earth quaking force killing the enemy ninja for good this time.

"hmmm perhaps my Knightmare was too much for him." Alice said nonchalantly as she held the fiery eyed skeletal weapon.

Sasame kept her guard up as she turned to the girl and said to her, "Who are you and what business do you have here?"

Alice frowned as she said to the girl in an offended tone, "I just kept those men from doing god knows what to you and this is the thanks I get? Is everyone here this rude?... I think I have asked that before." Alice then pressed a finger to her chin thinking.

"I didn't need your help. I had them where I wanted them." Said the short girl to Alice.

"Ohh? Did you now? I guess you even knew about the guy that was hidden?" Quipped Alice in response.

Sasame sweat dropped and said, "Maybe not, but I am a Kunoichi. I could have taken him." She was close to attacking this girl. She took all of her kills and then claimed to have rescued her, it was infuriating.

Alice said, "How was I supposed to know? For all I could have known you were a harmless girl that I and my traveling companions happened upon at just the right moment to help."

Naruto sensing this was his cue and not wanting any problems decided to make an appearance with Jiraiya right behind him.

Sasame sensed two more people approaching and got ready to attack until she saw who it was. She instantly recognized the blonde haired shinobi and she actually blushed a bit remembering everything that happened with him, including the accidental grope. She looked at him for a bit, staring at him before she broke herself from her musings and said, "Naruto-kun? Is that you?"

Naruto gave a little chuckle and said to her, "Hey Sasame-chan. You look well." Sasame then ran towards him and gave him a hug in greeting. Before smiling at him and saying to him, "Thanks Naruto-kun you look well too." She blushed a little bit realizing how much taller he had gotten before she broke her hug. The two then started talking amicably for a bit.

Alice didn't like this girl calling Naruto that way for some reason, nor did she like how he called her '-chan' even though she could tell it was just his way of greeting the girl. She managed to keep her cool somehow even though she was a bit upset and wanted to demand they tell her how they knew each other.

Jiraiya cleared his throat hoping to get a hug from the girl that was turning out to be quite the beauty. He was given a smile from her, and a "Hello Jiraiya-sama" but nothing else. He frowned but recovered having thought up some great ideas for one of his books he whipped out the notepad. He was about to start writing when he felt Alice getting mad at him. He paled a little and then said in defense, "I am not writing about you Alice-chan…. I swear!"

Unfortunately for the white haired man Alice didn't have her usual cool patience. "Sure you aren't. But I told you not to be overly perverted in front of me did I not?" She then hit him with the Knightmare. He felt as if a bit of his life force was drained from the hit followed by horrible pain as he went soaring backwards and hit a tree.

Alice's eyes widened a bit as she realized what she had done by accident and then felt bad for what she did. The area darkened a little bit as she went to Jiraiya and started apologizing to him profusely. "I am sorry Jiraiya-san. I wasn't thinking. I had just saved that girl and then she was ungrateful and the things that guy said and then her and Naruto seemed so friendly. I wasn't thinking. I am sorry I didn't mean to hit you with the Knightmare. Are you alright?" She even gave him a small hug.

Jiraiya was shocked to see her so concerned and decided to ask her later about the weapon and why she got so angry with what happened and acted in a rush. "I am alright Alice. Perhaps you should tell me later about that weapon and what bugged you that much."

Alice felt a bit easier and the atmosphere got a bit lighter around her as well as she broke off the small hug. She nodded and then helped him up and they went back to Naruto and Sasame.

When Sasame saw what Alice did she couldn't help but say, "Wow… and I thought Sakura was violent. Is she always this way Naruto-kun?" She looked up and saw the concern in his blue eyes for the dark haired girl. He looked to her and answered, "No Alice is usually calmer and much more tolerable of Ero-sannin's habits than to lash out like that at the sight of his notebook."

Sasame looked at Alice and felt just a bit jealous of the girl. Naruto had only said her first name with no suffix yet the way he said her name spoke loads to the orange haired girl. Sasame frowned a bit, but she didn't let it ruin her mood, despite things she was glad to see Naruto again.

Once Alice returned with Jiraiya, she decided to behave herself and use her manners. She then went to Sasame and gave the small girl a curtsy before introducing herself. "My name is Alice Liddell. I am sorry we got off to a bad start. I didn't know you were able to protect yourself nor you were a friend of Naruto's."

Sasame noticed the way she said Naruto's name without a suffix but the way she also said it spoke volumes to her. Sasame smiled as she thought, _"Well she seems to at least like Naruto in return possibly."_

Jiraiya then noticed it was getting late and said to everyone, "Well we should make camp a little bit a way from here because of the dead, but it is getting late so we shouldn't go too far before supper. Sasame-chan will you be joining us?"

Sasame wasn't sure what to say until she heard Naruto say to her, "You should Sasame-chan. We can catch up and even if you are strong it isn't wise to travel at night alone." She decided he had a point, and she really did want to catch up anyways. So she responded, "Sure Naruto-kun if you don't mind."

He smiled and said, "I don't mind. Do you Alice?"

Alice didn't fully love the idea but she didn't hate it either. She replied, "As long as you get ingredients for our guest in addition to our usual. I see no harm in it."

{-} {-} {-}

That night they had hog for dinner. Sasame was a little weary when she saw how proficient the girl was with knives while skinning the hog. She was also amazed at how the Green eyed girl seemed to know which herbs and other naturally found vegetables were best to go with the main course. The orange haired girl couldn't help but giggle at how easily both Naruto and Jiraiya fulfilled her request for additional ingredients as Alice thought of things to add to the course.

The meal was amazing the hog meat was seasoned just right and was only complimented by the vegetables served with it. The Fuma clan girl was surprised when Alice actually severed everyone their meal. She figured it would be a come and get it type of thing, but Alice actually asked how much they wanted and brought them all their plates. She was surprised once again when Naruto actually ate the vegetables without complaint and seemed to enjoy them. She remembered last time they met he hated vegetables with a passion.

Dinner was pleasant enough, though sometimes it seemed that things were a bit darker for brief periods of time and for some reason Alice wasn't very talkative.

Once they finished their meal they prepared the leftover meat for keeping and stored it away. Everyone started talking, well maybe not Alice much but the others did. They learned that the Fuma clan was more or less acting like the land of sounds protectors since there wasn't a real ninja village there. Things had gone well for the clan and they were on their way to glory once again.

Naruto and Sasame talked a good bit. Naruto did his best to get Alice involved but she didn't seem too keen to respond. She spent most of the time observing how Naruto and the orange haired girl talked to each other. Depressing thoughts sometimes taking over her mind but she pushed them to the side.

Finally Jiraiya had enough of the Atmosphere so he went to Alice knowing what to do. He approached her and said, "Alice I believe we have something we need to talk about alone… If you don't mind following me." He then beckoned to her. Alice nodded and followed him as she excused herself. Naruto frowned as Alice went off with the sage hoping he knew what to do.

{-} {-} {-}

Once they were a bit away Jiraiya turned to the young woman and said to her, "Okay Alice what is bothering you tonight?"

Alice blinked, she was caught off guard by his question. "What do you mean Jiraiya-san? I have been behaving myself."

Jiraiya sighed and said to her, "Well the way you acted earlier when we saw those bandits. And then you hit me with that weapon of yours and you panicked a bit. Also you have been very quiet tonight which is very unlike you."

Alice dropped her shoulders and said, "Oh that…. It is all complicated. I guess I should start at the beginning. I was planning to tell you everything anyways and now seems as good a time as any." She then beckoned him to take a seat which he did. She then told him about her past and everything about it mostly. She managed to keep it together at least somewhat this time.

Once she finished Jiraiya was staring before noticing her get uneasy. He then said, "You have been through a lot more than I could have imagined. It is amazing you are as well off as you are. Your willpower is about as strong as Naruto's. I'm impressed Alice."

She smiled a bit. "As for your question about the weapon from earlier. I panicked because the Knightmare is different from my normal Hobby Horse. The Knightmare damages the target's life force directly and even absorbs it sometimes to replenish my own when needed. That is why I acted that way… I really am sorry about that Jiraiya."

Jiraiya smiled at her. "Well fortunately it didn't hurt me too bad. But you need to try and not let your emotions cause you to make such mistakes again, but I doubt you will. I know you are worried about things with you and Naruto after seeing how he reacted to Sasame, but he is just friendly in general to both guys and girls. It is a part of who he is."

Alice brought her knees up to her as she said with sadness, "Does that mean he was only being nice to me because he is that way with everyone? Was I wrong to think that we had something more than just a small friendship? I don't know much about these things at all. Maybe I am just some strange summon to him after all." She sat there looking at the stars.

Jiraiya stood next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder and said to her in a reassuring voice, "You are more than that to him. You are very special I can tell. I know things are different than what you are used to. But you are and will keep getting used to them. It won't be easy since Naruto has little more experience with friendships and stuff like that than you do. Also he told you about his prisoner. Few know about that who weren't there that night. He didn't even tell his teammates about him. He is weary of how people will react understandably. The fact that he not only told you about the fox but also wanted to tell you about the fox shows he thinks greatly about you."

Alice looked at him and gave him a smile. She stood up gave him a quick hug and then they headed back. As they went back to camp Jiraiya was thinking, _"Right now Naruto has it easy since I am the only other guy you have around you Alice. But once we get back to Konoha things won't be easy for him anymore. Once you have been there for a bit other guys will take notice of your beauty."_

{-} {-} {-}

Once Alice got back she was talkative like usual and started enjoying Sasame's company a little bit. They discussed many things with each other and Alice learned many things about girls and women of this world. She listened about things related to Kunoichi with interest.

Eventually they went to bed. Naruto taking the first watch as usual. Sasame went to bed almost right away since she was really tired. She had told them about her mission she was on, to stop a bandit operation from interfering with trade routes. The first part was easy and she was able to remain unnoticed thanks to her mask hat she still had with her. Those three she let corner her were the last she had to deal with for the mission which had taken a good bit of time.

Alice stayed up and as always talked to Naruto about things in private with the blonde. She couldn't help but feel a bit triumphant that she and Naruto had more of a personal and private discussion than he had with the orange haired girl from what she could gather. She also felt a bit guilty that she let something like this make her feel happy.

{-} {-} {-}

Morning came and they all ate breakfast together. They talked a bit more and then Sasame parted from their company to report back that her mission was a success. She waved at the others and smiled while thinking about Alice and Naruto. _"I really was wrong to think she was like Sakura. I won't say it to them and I don't want to really help out their relationship any more than I already did with Naruto last night. But I think the two will be good for each other."_ She then left and giggled to herself remembering her conversation with him last night.

-Flashback-

Alice and Jiraiya had just left together and were out of ear shot. Sasame turned to Naruto and said, "She really does like you Naruto."

Naruto blushed and gave a nervous laugh as he replied, "We really are close to each other. I like her a lot. I just was a bit surprised she acted the way she did today."

Sasame gave a bit of a laugh and said to him, "She feels a bit threatened with me here I think. She probably doubted what you really thought about her."

Naruto frowned and said, "I guess. She has always been a bit weary of girls that try to get my attention in the towns we have been through on our trip, even before we got really close to each other. I just don't get why she thinks they are a threat. I don't like them. I like her. I mean guys give her looks and all but I don't let it bother me… too much…. I don't understand."

Sasame gave a giggle and said, "It seems you have had it easier than her. I wonder if you will still be able to say the same thing once you get back to Konoha."

Naruto wondered what she meant but she wouldn't say anything else except, "Make sure you treat her right Naruto."

-End of Flashback-

Jiraiya, Naruto and Alice continued on their trip, which was coming to an end soon as they kept getting closer to Konoha.


	4. Return to Konoha

AMR and Naruto crossover: Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: This is where that disclaimer thingy goes usually. Also the chapters will finally be getting to be a little shorter but still decent in length.

* * *

Chapter 4: Return to Konoha

Alice stood by the early morning fire with breakfast almost finished. She was a bit anxious today, because they were closing in on Konoha quick. She wasn't sure how things would go with following Naruto and Jiraiya to Konoha, so she was a bit of a nervous wreck.

Jiraiya had said he and Naruto both were close to the fifth Hokage and she would be likely to accept her into their home. He also said there would be some precautions placed on her, to make sure she wasn't an enemy. He told her they wouldn't be too bad. There would be guards that stayed out of the way and gave her a decent level of privacy. The guards' only function was to make sure she didn't run off to expose the village's location to enemy ninja.

Alice thought the idea was ridiculous stating that if she were to run off all they would need to do was have Naruto summon her and she wouldn't be able to escape. Jiraiya laughed at this and said to her, "You know I didn't think much about that. I'll tell her about your status as summon for Naruto. That may get the Hokage to back off with the guards at least if nothing else."

The green eyed beauty was so wound up with worry that she had trouble staying asleep these past couple of nights. She even got up early and cooked a feast of a breakfast yesterday. Like she had done today again. It helped her clear her mind. She was in control of how the cooking went. Something she really found peace in since so much of her life was beyond her control.

She was also still getting used to the freedom she had in this world, even if a bit limited at times. It was scary from time to time, but she found herself enjoying having her mind free at last from the suffering she had for so long endured. The downside was she now had her sanity mostly intact but didn't have something to focus on like she did before.

When she was in the Asylum she focused on either defying the nurses and doctors or later saving Wonderland. After that she had her duties at Houndsditch and after a bit figuring out the truth behind the fire. She had done both of those things and now worked hard to figure out what she should do in this world. Fortunately the answer was simple. Help Naruto. If things with the Hokage didn't go well she shuddered to think what she would do with her life.

The ham and eggs were finishing along with the many other foods as she woke up Jiraiya and Naruto. She knew by now how they liked their eggs so she didn't need to ask them anymore. Once she handed the two now awake males their plate she grabbed her own. She was staring at the plate wishing she could have some breakfast tea with it all. She really did miss her tea. She would have to do what she could to get some once they were in Konoha. She heard the 'village' was actually the size of decent sized city. She was hoping they would have some there she could buy once she got more money or at least found a way to afford it.

Naruto noticed Alice in deep concentration and asked her, "What's on your mind Alice-chan?" The girl looked up her green eyes vibrant causing the blonde to momentarily lose himself in them. She then said, "Just missing some of the finer things from my home is all, no need to worry about me Naruto." As always the way she said his name made him happy, and he asked further, "oh? Like What?"

She sighed longingly and said, "I miss having tea is all. That green tea we had at some of the restaurants here isn't really the same. I want something similar to Assam tea. It is a tea known for its malty flavor and strong bright color. It was an import where I was from. I know I can't find the exact same thing here but I am hoping I can find something similar in Konoha. Does Konoha have teas for sale Naruto?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and gave a little laugh. He answered her best he could which wasn't much, "I don't know much about tea sorry, Alice-chan." He frowned at not being able to help her with this question.

Jiraiya then looked up from his plate and said to Alice, "I would think there would be places in the Markets district. After all Naruto's team helped bring peace to the Land of Tea a while back. I think Tsunade opened up trading agreements with them that they eagerly accepted as thanks for our help in ending the corruption running their country at the time."

Alice smiled and said to the white haired man, "Thanks Jiraiya-san. That makes me a bit hopeful I won't have to retreat to wonderland for tea. I am not sure if I even can. I haven't really tried that… hmmm…" She then finished her breakfast and pondered if she could get to Wonderland or not as she took care of her dishes. She wanted to check in on things there from time to time. She decided that she would ask Cheshire next time she saw him.

{-} {-} {-}

After they broke camp and started towards Konoha, with Jiraiya and Alice discussing things about Konoha and Naruto practically jumping all over the place in his excitement to finally be returning home. Jiraiya said to Alice, "I think it would be best if you stuck with Naruto and gave me some time to speak with Tsunade alone. That way I can tell her about your time with us. I think we should tell her about your past."

Alice frowned a bit at these words, she was understandably apprehensive about telling people her past but deep down she seemed to agree with Jiraiya on this one. Naruto stopped his bouncing seeing Alice's frown and said to her, "Don't worry Alice-chan. Keep calm and it will be okay. There are plenty of ninja with troubling pasts. She might have to have someone examine you but they won't try any 'treatments'. I'm sure." Alice was only a bit relieved hearing this.

Jiraiya added to what Naruto said, "They will only see if you are a danger to the village and if you can be trusted for the ninja program. Still I am not sure what to think about this. You might get it really easy since you are technically a summon. Or at least I will try for that." Jiraiya then gave her a friendly smile, and he was happy to see the dark haired girl seemed to relax. Alice then said to both of them, "I will go through what I must. I don't really have a choice in the matter if Konoha is to be my home anyways." She then breathed out and said darkly, "Besides considering what I went through in the Asylum I think I can handle a neutral interrogation."

Naruto frowned remembering what she had said about Rutledge and had to agree. He thought what she went through there was more like something Ibiki put known traitors and enemies through, except she experienced it for years. He sighed to himself, _"I don't think I could have made it through such a long ordeal, like she did."_

"Anyways." Began Alice breaking the gloomy atmosphere, "I can't wait to try that ichiraku's place you always go on about Naruto and this ramen too. Am I correct in thinking that will be our first stop since Jiraiya wants time to explain things to the Hokage?" Naruto instantly brightened and began bouncing all over the place again thinking about it. He then started going on and on about how amazing ramen was and how wonderful Ichiraku's was. The whole scene brought a smile to Alice and made her laugh.

{-} {-} {-}

They were finally close to Konoha now. It was just on the horizon. Naruto was waiting for Jiraiya to catch up. Alice was standing right beside Naruto taking in the sight. She turned and beamed at Naruto saying, "It looks amazing Naruto-kun!" Naruto's eagerness was really catching to her; despite what was to come she was almost as eager as he was to arrive at Konoha. The two ran ahead having to stop every so often, since Jiraiya was taking his sweet time for some reason.

Naruto turned back and said loudly, "Come on Ero-sannin! You are supposed to be an amazing ninja and spy. Surely you can be faster than this, especially since you were so eager to out run Alice when we first met her."

Alice gave a soft musical laugh and said to Naruto, "You would think the number one super pervert was capable of running really fast since he has spent most of his life running from angry women who discovered he was 'researching' them."

Naruto burst out laughing at Alice's joke. He had come too really like her wit over their journey a lot. He then turned back and said aloud once again, "HA HA! Alice got you good there Ero-sannin." He was being louder than needed to be since he knew Jiraiya heard everything.

Jiraiya grimaced and covered his ears before saying, "Naruto. Really I can hear you just fine in your normal voice. I am not some old man hard of hearing."

Naruto then said, "Oh really? From the way you have been falling behind I was starting to think your age was catching up to you." Alice smiled and gave another laugh.

Jiraiya sighed and said, "I would say just go ahead without me but, I don't think that would be a good idea with Alice here. So unless you carry me you will have to keep waiting for me, until we get to the gates." Jiraiya failed to see the glance Naruto and Alice gave each other and the mischievous smile Naruto flashed as Alice nodded in understanding.

Soon Alice grabbed his legs firmly and Naruto grabbed his shoulders and summoned a couple of clones to help out as well. Jiraiya barely had time to voice any complaints as the group then rushed towards the gates.

{-} {-} {-}

The two eternal guards Kotetsu and Izumo were doing their best to stay awake since guard duty was rather dull, despite being important work. Kotetsu looked to the distance and saw a group of figures headed their way with clouds of dust behind them. He turned to his partner and said, "Hey Izumo? You see that?" Pointing where he was just looking.

Izumo looked where he was pointing and said in a bored tone, "If you mean the orange and black ninjas and a beautiful girl in a bright blue dress with a white apron carrying the toad sage than yah…" His eyes then widened and he turned to his friend and said with a smile, "Seems like Naruto is back from training with Jiraiya-sama. Not sure how that hottie fits in with them though."

Kotetsu then looked again and saw the girl. She was a petite and very attractive girl. He then replied to his friend, "I guess we will find out if Jiraiya feels we should know. Maybe things will get exciting here now, with Naruto back!"

{-} {-} {-}

Alice stopped them a few yards away saying, "We should stop here and let Jiraiya take care of the check in Naruto." Naruto nodded and stopped as well. The two of them then both promptly dropped the white haired man on the ground and the clones dispelled.

Jiraiya got up and rubbed his back before griping, "You two could have placed me down gently you know. Geez… I am still in good shape but I'm not as young as you two."

Alice simply said, "Consider that pay back for trying to purposely lose me after we first met."

Jiraiya sighed and said, "Fine that works for you but not Naruto."

Naruto replied, "I wasn't happy with that move either. Since she helped me out greatly and even managed to get that Zetsu guy off our backs."

Jiraiya then gave up as they walked forward and said, "Ok I am sorry for doing that Alice-chan. I really am. Can you forgive me for it now?"

Alice smiled and said to him, "There was nothing to apologize for in the first place Ero-sannin. But since you insist. I forgive you." Naruto then laughed and slapped Jiraiya on the back before saying, "Lighten up! We are back home! I'm sure even you have to enjoy returning to Konoha Jiraiya."

Jiraiya finally smiled as they approached the gates and he said to the two, "Alright after I check us in. You two can go wherever. Once Tsunade-hime is ready to speak with you both I am sure she will send ANBU to inform you. Just don't wander too far. I think Alice's grand tour will have to wait until after she meets with the Hokage and matters are settled." The two nodded in reply.

"Hey there Kotetsu and Izumo. Guard duty again?" Jiraiya chuckled. The two chunin just nodded and asked him to identify himself and the two with him. Jiraiya said, "I am Jiraiya. I have returned from a long term mission for the village with my apprentice Naruto Uzumaki. He met Alice Liddell here during our journey. Due to circumstances I can't discuss with others without approval, she plans on joining us here in Konoha. I intend to speak with Tusnade about her, and until she is sent for, Naruto will be her escort in the village."

The two gave her a look over. Some details caught there attention. She had beautiful green eyes, dark hair and a light skinned complexion. They also noticed her apron had dried blood stains on it and she wasn't wearing a headband for any village. They weren't sure what to do but since Jiraiya's and Naruto's IDs checked out, and the sannin told them he was going to speak with the Hokage about her while leaving her under Naruto's care. They figured there was no harm to be done in letting them pass. They of course notified nearby ANBU of the unknown girl but repeated Jiraiya's instructions of not actively taking her into custody unless she gives them reason.

{-} {-} {-}

After they were cleared to go through, Jiraiya went straight to Tsunade while Naruto almost dragged Alice off to Ichiraku's. Once they reached Ichiraku's Naruto went right inside. Alice on the other hand waited outside a bit wanting to take in the view of the ramen stand. She found it rather quaint and she decided it had a homey feel to it. As she continued taking the sight in she only partially noticed someone approach her.

{-} {-} {-}

Kakashi was having his usual day. He made his regular visit to the memorial stone, to remember and thank his best friend and teammate Obito for his sacrifice that saved his life. He was then taking a walk around the village making sure nothing was amiss as he read from his favorite book. He mostly read the book in public view to see if anyone would have the courage to tell him off for it, plus it was a damn good book in his opinion.

As he walked the streets he thought about his students or maybe former students now. Sakura was a lot stronger than she was before, having studied under the Hokage in medical jutsu and other techniques. Naruto was learning from the famous and strongest of the sannin Jiraiya-sama, who was also a wonderful author that always knew what his refined audience wanted from his books. There was more than just the material in the treasure trove of books, making them popular.

Then there was Sasuke. Kakashi hated himself for how he failed not only the last Uchiha but unintentionally neglected his other students. He had apologized to them once he could after the traitor left. He was lucky that Naruto didn't despise him for how he had treated him and Sakura. Sakura had words to say but he knew she was deep down angry at herself for being a stupid fan girl and unable to help Naruto when he needed it the most.

As he kept walking he noticed a beautiful girl, maybe a couple of years older than Naruto would now be, rocking back and forth on her heels as she stared at the sign to Ichiraku's with something akin to awe. Kakashi thought she was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. _"Wow… Look at her. Smooth white skin, vivid green eyes much more enthralling than Sakura's, and just the right amount of chest for her size."_ He was admiring the girl but at the same time he didn't forget his ninja paranoia. She was a stranger in the village, she didn't seem hostile but she was an unknown nonetheless. He approached her.

{-} {-} {-}

"_It is similar to parts of wonderland in this aspect. I can tell that they are words written differently from English but I can also understand them and read them. Maybe not pronounce them properly though. But this is curious never the less. Naruto must have been right about summons coming into this world understanding it."_ Alice thought to herself and pressed a finger to her dainty chin as she pursed her lips and read aloud, "Ichi ra ku! I got it right!"

Kakashi paused as she read the sign. _ "Is she a tourist? In a hidden ninja village? Perhaps she is more dangerous than I thought if she just casually infiltrated our home."_ Kakashi cleared his throat so she could her it causing her to look at him with interest. She was looking at him from several different angles. She then said in a wonderful accented voice while giving him a look over, "Kakashi-san? Hmmm must be." Kakashi quirked an eyebrow and said to her politely, "And you are miss?"

Alice stopped musing and stepped back a bit before giving him a polite curtsy and greeted him, "I am Alice Liddell. Sorry I forgot my manners while examining you." He blushed at her polite bluntness, that caught him off guard. He then greeted her in return, "I am Kakashi Hatake. Though you seem to already know me." He then gave a small bow to the girl.

She then smiled and said to him, "Pleased to meet you. I know a lot about you and team seven of course." She didn't explain why though as she returned to taking in the sights. Kakashi readied himself and asked her still politely, "I have never met you before. I am surprised you know of me and my students."

She then casually said, "Well this is my first time here. So it is no wonder you haven't met me before." She noticed him tense and continued, "I am not a threat to Konoha. In fact, I have an escort and I am sure if I did anything too bold the Guards that have been following me since I entered through the gate would make sure I was caught. Not that they need to worry about me escaping or anything." She continued taking in everything like a kid in a candy store. She would admit that he seemed to be physically fit and what little could be seen of his face would be considered handsome but there was so much more to see of the place than ninja.

Kakashi was a bit surprised he hadn't noticed the ANBU hiding in the tree. Yet she knew they were there following her and she didn't seem tense or anything. _"Either she is very good or she truly does mean no harm here. Maybe both."_ Kakashi thought to himself as he relaxed and decided to start heading towards the Hokage tower. He was supposed to be there today anyways. He gave the girl a polite smile and then said to her, "Well than Miss Alice. I guess I may see you around sometime. Anyways I hate to cut or first meeting short but I have things to do."

She nodded and said to him as he left, "Oh and Kakashi-san…" He paused wondering what she wanted, "It is disgraceful for a man of your status to walk around reading such vulgar material in public. If you insist on reading such things you should do it in the privacy of your home. Surely a man of your looks and renown can actually woo a girl if he wanted and doesn't need to read the perverted thoughts of an older white haired man. Good bye at any rate. See you again whenever that may be." She then turned back to her fascination.

Kakashi stood there with his mouth gapping at her audacity and courage to tell him such a thing. She did so in such a polite manner while she still expressing her displeasure at him, it actually made him feel a little ashamed. He then rubbed the back of his head and put the book away, for the moment at least. He made his way towards the tower at a leisure pace not wanting to seem like he had just been told off by a small beautiful girl in a bright blue dress. He did however hear the ANBU guards snicker and swore he heard Neko say, "I think I like this girl. Good thing we don't have a reason to bring her in as a threat. No one has ever called him out before." Kakashi sulked and shed a single tear before regaining his composure and leaving.

{-} {-} {-}

Shortly after Kakashi was out of ear shot Alice heard a call from inside the ramen stand. "Alice-chan! Come on already. You have to eat this ramen with me. You promised!" Alice blushed at the fact she had once again gotten lost in her curiosity. She then stood up straight and replied to him, "Sorry Naruto. I was just admiring the sights. So what is good here?"

As she walked in she noticed he already had a stack of bowls to his right and exclaimed in amazement, "Goodness Naruto, are you inhaling the stuff?" She sighed and then said in a defeated tone, "I thought you had better manners than this. Really? What am I going to do with you?"

Naruto paused and gave a nervous laugh as he apologized to her, "Heh heh… Sorry Alice-chan. It is just I had to go for so long without Ichiraku's! I'm surprised I even managed to live without it on our trip." He said the last part with exaggerated panic.

Alice gave a little giggle and said to him, "Then one of the things I will have to do is try to get you to savor your favorite food instead of just inhaling it. No time to neither take in the pleasing aroma nor give your taste buds a treat." Naruto thought about it for a moment but went back to inhaling the stuff. He can savor it another time he decided.

Teuchi and Ayame enjoyed having their best customer back and they also thought the young well-mannered woman was very pleasant company as well. Ayame really enjoyed talking to the girl; the two seemed to already be forming a friendship. They all had a good laugh as they traded tales the best they could. Alice was a bit vague with her tales. It was hard to figure out where she was from but that didn't bother the two cooks the least bit.

While they had their meal Alice managed to somewhat correct Naruto of his bad habit with ramen. This really surprised the cooks since no one had ever done that before. Alice really was something, they both agreed. _"Something that Naruto-kun. Really needs it seems."_ the Ramen master thought to himself as he watched the two.

After Naruto had what seemed like ten more bowls and Alice had two small ones not being able to pick just one flavor to try. The two finished and Alice was about to pay for her food when Naruto placed a hand on hers and smiled at her as he said cheerfully, "Don't worry Alice-chan I got this one." Alice smiled and blushed a slight bit at the contact.

{-} {-} {-}

Once he paid they stepped outside, and Naruto saw a familiar pineapple haired ninja. He also noticed and recognized the four pigtailed blonde girl with him. Naruto smiled and said, "Hey Shikamaru. Temari-chan! Are you two on a date?" Alice stood there aghast he would say that. She could tell the two had a certain atmosphere around them before Naruto ruined it. She gave him a soft hit on the arm and said, "It isn't right, to ruin their close atmosphere like that Naruto-kun." She smiled and turned to the two in front of her.

Temari blushed at the thought; she wasn't opposed to the idea even if it wasn't the case. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck and muttered, "troublesome blonde." Temari then gave him a small jab as he said, "oaf!" He stared at her and then turned to Naruto and was actually surprised at how his friend had changed. He was even more surprised when he saw a pretty dark haired and green-eyed girl with him. Temari gave him a small but more forceful jab. He had been staring at the girl too much in her opinion.

Shikamaru gave her a tired glare and then finally answered Naruto, "Hey Naruto. We aren't on a date right now. We are working together for the upcoming Chunin exams."

Temari blushed a little noticing he didn't say they weren't going to date just they weren't right now. She saw this as progress. She had really liked Shikamaru, he was a lazy good for nothing genius but he wasn't bad company. She then turned to the others and bowed her head as she said, "Hey Naruto. How is it going? Gaara will be glad to hear that you are back and safe." She then gave a bit of teasing and mischievous grin as she said, "What about yourself? Are you on a date?" She felt victorious as she saw Naruto scratch the back of his head and the girl with him suddenly find a flower to her side interesting. _"No wonder Shikamaru stared at her. She is beautiful I suppose. Still he shouldn't have stared for so long at her. I am right here to look at… "_The Suna Kunoichi thought to herself.

Alice recovered first and gave the two a deep curtsy as she then addressed them, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Alice Liddell. I met Naruto and Jiraiya-san on their trip. I am sorry that I can't go into detail about my circumstances at this time though. Naruto here is my escort until Hokage-sama calls for us."

Temari was taken aback by the formal greeting. She then bowed in return a bit nervously and said, "I-I-I am Temari of the sand. I am a Jonin and liaison for the Chunin exams from Suna. I am here with Shikamaru as my escort during our break around the village." She tried to smile but felt uncomfortable, hoping she hadn't offended the girl somehow.

Shikamaru sighed and muttered under his breath "Troublesome greetings." He then turned and gave Alice a bow, figuring it was the right thing to do, he then said to her, "I am Shikamaru Nara, Temari's escort and Konoha's liaison for the Chunin exams. I'm pleased to meet you Alice-san."

Naruto decided to break the formal atmosphere and asked, "Hey Temari-chan how is Gaara doing anyways?" Temari smiled and said to her fellow blonde, "He is now the fifth Kazekage. It took some time for people to see him as a strong ninja protecting them rather than a psychopath like he once was though. In all honesty, you defeating him and telling him your dream had a huge impact on my brother. He always thought while getting the people used to him what your dream meant to you. He really surprised everyone when he told them that he wanted to lead the village, protect its people, and undo the damage our farther did to Suna."

Naruto gave a small smile as he said, "Already Kage huh? I will have to catch up to him and show him how it's done!" He then smiled brightly as he thought about his fellow Jinchuriki, and clamped his fist in determination. Alice couldn't help but giggle at this. Temari joined the blue dressed girl with her own laugh. Even Shikamaru gave a smile, thinking, _"I want to see that Naruto. Hopefully others will help you reach your dream."_

After talking a little bit longer they departed company with each other. Naruto now fired up even more, if that was possible, Shouted, "Let's go to the Hokage tower Alice-chan! I know Tsunade-baachan hasn't called for us yet but I think she will soon." With that they headed towards the Hokage's tower. They would end up making one more stop before the tower though.

{-} {-} {-}

Konohamaru, a boy with spiky brown hair, black eyes wearing a green jacket and long blue scarf stood with his team in the Hokage's office. The team called their selves 'The Konohamaru Corps' since the young Sarutobi decided on it, though the others didn't mind the title much. The group was standing in front of a deceptively young looking, big breasted woman with long twin pony tails, wearing her trademarked green medic jacket. She turned to them and said, "Well you three did well. Tora capture successful. I don't have any other missions for you at this time. Good job you three."

Konohamaru jumped up and whooped as he said, "Catching a cat is nothing for the future seventh Hokage."

Ebisu quirked an eyebrow and asked him, "Seventh Hokage? Who do you think will be the sixth?"

Konohamaru gave a large grin and said, "That's easy Naruto will be the sixth."

Ebisu frowned a bit and said, "I don't know about that. It is tough to be a Hokage." He decided not to pursue the subject since he knew that Tsunade-sama was fond of the boy. Also he had to admit that he was starting to change his opinion of the brat. He was also proud of how the blonde brat inspired Konohamaru to train even harder along with the rest of the team. They had just made the record for the shortest Tora capture after all.

The young Sarutobi then said with confidence, "He will be you just wait and see! Boss will show everyone how strong a ninja can be." Ebisu stayed silent while thinking, _"We will see about that."_

The Hokage gave a small chuckle and thought, _"He is like a second Naruto. That boy really affects people and changes them for the best."_ She then sighed, dismissed them and wished she was allowed just a couple of sips of Sake but Shizune wouldn't allow it. The girl even went so far as to hide the booze from her. She would bring the Hokage a bottle after her office hours but Tsunade wanted sake sooner than that sometimes, but she took the situation in stride. She didn't quiet believe it but she had gotten used to her job as Hokage and even started to actually care for the village as a whole. When she first accepted the position it was because she cared about Naruto and knew taking the position was the best way she could help him out.

{-} {-} {-}

Ebisu decided that his team could have the rest of the day off and do with it what they wanted. Konohamaru and his friends were walking the streets trying to figure out what to do. As they kept walking they stopped when they saw Naruto heading their way.

"Ahh! Boss you're back?!" shouted Konohamaru as he ran up to greet the blonde shinobi. He paused when he saw he was with a beautiful girl. "Oh?! Who's this hottie? Is she your girlfriend? Good going boss hope she doesn't distract you from becoming Hokage or I might beat you." Konohamaru grinned broadly as he finished, he was really happy seeing his friend again after so long.

Naruto blushed and was still lost on words to describe his relationship with Alice to others. Alice sensed his discomfort but wasn't as uncomfortable about being called that by others for some reason. She decided to respond, "I am Alice Liddell. Pleased to meet you." She gave a curtsy and hoped it didn't also catch them off guard. She continued, "I don't plan on distracting him from being Hokage. Instead while I am around I will try to help him become such. It is the least I can do for him."

Konohamaru blushed at her politeness and managed to do a greeting himself. "I am Konohamaru Sarutobi, grandson of the late Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. And future seventh Hokage since Naruto will be the sixth." He then bowed to her. It was the best done greeting she had experienced so far. He wasn't always formal; in fact he was usually far from it. However Konohamaru knew how to do a proper greeting since his grand dad was the third Hokage.

His teammates Moegi and Udon were a bit less sophisticated with their greeting since they hadn't dealt with any extra polite people before. The two still managed saying a greeting anyways though.

"I am Moegi!" Said an orange haired girl with two large pigtails that stood up on top of her head. She then gave the older girl a polite bow.

"I'm Udon." Said a brown haired boy that seemed to have something dripping from his nose as he too bowed.

After the introductions Konohamaru got a brilliant idea, at least in his head. He then turned to Naruto and said eagerly, "Hey Boss! I finally learned that technique you taught me!" Before Naruto could object since he didn't think Alice would approve, the young Sarutobi had done the hand signs and shouted, "Sexy no Jutsu!"

In a poof of smoke, Konohamaru was replaced by a very busty and very naked Black haired woman covered only by wisps of white smoke making it impossible to see anything private.

As Naruto guessed Alice was not pleased with this, she gave Naruto a glare as she turned and said to the transformed kid. "What do you think you are doing?! Something like that is hardly respectable. You should be ashamed of yourself doing something like that in the presence of ladies! Do you honestly think your grandfather would be proud of you using such a technique?!" She then glared at Naruto, as she growled at him, "You taught a kid something like that?! Of all the things you could teach someone you teach them that technique? Surely you could have taught him something more useful." She was livid and close to bringing out her knife.

Naruto tried to diffuse the situation, "Alice-chan… calm down… I was 12 when I came up with that. I didn't have anything else to teach someone… And he asked me to teach him a ninja technique. I only used it on those I knew were closet perverts… Besides… Konohamaru…" He then pointed towards the boy who was back to normal and looking saddened.

Alice winced as she just realized what she had said to the kid. She sighed and turned to the kid, placed a hand on his shoulder and said in a soft voice, "I am sorry Konohamaru… I went too far mentioning your grandfather… I should have known better. I hated it when people said such things about my family after I lost them." Konohamaru looked into her green eyes and saw that she really meant her apology.

She then gave a weak smile and told him, "I suppose it will work as a great distraction on perverted men... Which there seem to be plenty of around here." She was thinking about Jiraiya and Kakashi. She then stood up and said in a stern voice, "However, you shouldn't use that technique so freely, especially in front of girls." She then pointed towards herself and Moegi, who looked a little abashed. The orange haired girl had also learned to use the technique and they had even had a collaboration jutsu version of it. Though none of them saw fit to mention that after how Alice responded to just Konohamaru using it. For some reason they felt they didn't want to anger or disappoint the blue dressed young woman.

Konohamaru then said, "I do know better. Sorry I just wanted to show Boss here that I learned the special technique he taught me." He then grinned as he then spoke proudly, "I also learned the shadow clone jutsu he taught me!" He then demonstrated the jutsu for Naruto to see.

Alice then gave a smile glad that Naruto had taught the boy something very useful. She felt relieved for some reason about this. She figured it was because her companion and friend and maybe something more, she wasn't sure, wasn't just some perverted idiot.

Naruto then grinned broadly and clasped Konohamaru on the shoulder before saying to him, "Good job Konohamaru! Shadow clones are very useful. Not only can I teach you a new technique at a later time but also you can use them to help you train. If you didn't already know that."

Konohamaru's eyes lit up as he asked eagerly, "How so?"

Naruto grinned more and answered, "Everything your clone or clones learn you learn as well once they dispel. Nothing physical mind you. But things like jutsus and chakra control, it works wonders on."

Konohamaru cheered at this, while Moegi and Udon looked only a little bit jealous that he could make more use of his training than they could. They didn't say anything though; they both decided that they would just do what they could for him and get strong as a team.

After talking for some time they decided to go ahead and leave. Alice had actually come to like the kids in a way despite her initial impression from seeing _that jutsu_ used. She also couldn't help but wonder if she would be able to teach others some of her moves. She really wanted to do what she could to prove she belonged here in Konoha. Probably because she hated how she was seen as nothing but useless back in London, and especially in Rutledge. They made it a point there to go out of their way to say things like that about her. It was even an approved method by Doctor Wilson for treating her.

They were finally outside the Hokage's tower where the attendant told them the Hokage was busy at the moment. Naruto figuring it was Jiraiya explaining things decided that it would be best if they actually waited in the hall. He really wanted to go in there and see Tusnade again, but he also wanted things to go well with getting Alice into Konoha, so he dared not risk interrupting their talk just so he could see Tsunade a little bit sooner.

{-} {-} {-}

After the Konohamaru Corps, left Tsunade soon felt a familiar presence by her window. She couldn't help but give a grin as she welcomed the perverted sage. "Welcome back Jiraiya. I take it you have news? Hopefully some good at least."

Jiraiya gave a smug smile as he said, "I have some bad news, some good news and some rather interesting news. Which do you want to hear first Tsunade-hime?"

She rolled her eyes at the nickname he always used for her and she would never admit it but sometimes it brought a smile to her face. Though she had a feeling he knew this to some extent already. She motioned for him to sit and said to her attendant, "Hold off all my visitors until I say otherwise and clear my schedule." The attendant bowed and left the room.

She sighed and said, "You don't happen to have a bottle of sake with you do you Jiraiya?"

He grinned and produced a small one with two cups. It was the reason why he took some time to get to her office after entering the village. He figured she would be more patient and willing to accept what he asked of her if she had a drink or two.

Tsunade gave a weak smile and then said to him, "I guess you have something big to ask of me, or you wouldn't have brought a bottle. Anyways perhaps you should start at the beginning."

Jiraiya gave a nervous laugh and said sheepishly, "Caught already? Heh heh… Oh well. The thing I am asking of you will probably be to your liking or so I am hoping. Anyways…" and so he started the tale of his two and a half years with Naruto training.

* * *

A/N: cutting it off here. If I didn't then the chapter would be ridiculously large even by my standards.

I am happy to see people are already enjoying the story. Chapters will be coming out for this story rather quickly at first because I have several written already. I was just waiting for what I felt was the right time to introduce it. As for the things people have been wondering about all I will say is wait and see. I have been working on plans for most of this stuff and I hope they work as well in the story as they do in my brain.


	5. Meeting Tsunade

AMR and Naruto Crossover: Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: *Insert disclaimer and such here*

* * *

Chapter 5: Meeting Tsunade

It took some time but finally Jiraiya managed to tell Tsunade all he could about Alice's story from what he was told. He didn't leave much of anything out, he knew Tsunade needed to know everything and Alice did as well. He was sure that Tsunade would at least give her a meeting to determine herself if the girl was a threat or not, but still he was worried.

Tsunade thought about everything she was just told about this Alice Liddell. She asked Jiraiya, "How is she with Naruto?" The blonde brat mattered a lot to her so the Hokage wanted to think more about his relationship with the girl.

Jiraiya answered her, "The two as I said are really close. She told him more about her past than she told me. Just told me the basic of everything and some small details, relating to what happened to her. She knows it is important she not keep that back." He paused to take a couple of breaths letting Tsunade think over that last statement.

Tsunade nodded she would meet the girl for sure and probably welcome her to Konoha but her situation was an odd one. She was going to try and buy a little more time to think on it before letting the two in her office.

Jiraiya then continued, "Naruto really seems to care for her. He even told her about his prisoner. She accepted him without much thought, said she admired him more for holding something back like that."

Tsunade was pleased to hear this. She was already starting to think the girl worth a damn if nothing else for not just seeing the demon he kept locked away. She supposed it was partly because Alice had been through something similar from what Jiraiya told her.

Jiraiya then gave a little smile and said, "He likes her. I think he has at least a crush on the girl if not more. I don't blame him she is beautiful and not quick to anger for those that don't deserve it. I am pretty sure she feels the same way about him. Unfortunately she isn't used to things like that though. But Naruto really isn't either."

Tsunade grinned and said, "Yah a one sided crush doesn't really count as much experience, even if Sakura saw him as a friend and important teammate eventually." Tsunade then thought a bit more about what Jiraiya had said. "You said she was trained to be a prostitute yet she is more than capable of fighting high level Ninjas with an assortment of unique and odd Weapons only?" she asked him.

Jiraiya thought for a moment and said, "As far as we know. When I say we, I mean Naruto, Alice and Me. She still has yet to fully test her abilities. She wanted to better hone her basic skills and some of her more useful techniques first." Tsunade thought that a very wise choice.

"Does she have a lot of potential? From what you know? I would hate for her to have already peaked if she is going to be around Naruto. Trouble finds him like ants do picnics." The fifth Hokage asked.

Jiraiya thought on how to best voice his thoughts. "She has lots of potential I would say. She is a quick learner. Also she can bend reality to her favor, though she does this unintentionally right now. Also like I said the weapons we have seen have strange properties. I think this is a result of her warping abilities. Her Knightmare as she calls it. Not only looks more horrifying than many things I have seen but it also damages an opponent's life force directly. She seems to summon it out of thin air. She may be able to enlighten you further about her gear."

Tsunade took a sip of sake as she thought about Alice's odd companion. "This Cheshire cat. Do you have any idea what he is up to? I wish he wasn't away. I would like to meet with him as well."

Jiraiya had a couple of guesses but nothing worth mentioning to Tsunade. "He was very curious about many things, especially summoning and seals. The summoning I can only guess is due to their unique situation. The seals I am not so sure about, maybe it has to do with the fact that I am a Master sealer and he just wanted to know about them from a good source."

Tsunade wished these things were easier to deal with. It wouldn't be much trouble at all if Alice wasn't associated with Naruto. Unfortunately the girl's prior 'training' would give the advisor council more ammunition to use against the young woman despite it being something useful for a Kunoichi. The advisor council didn't really have much choice in the matter but as Hokage, she had to at least meet with them and hear what they think of this new addition to the village.

Tsunade had a few different ways for the girl to join with as little hindrance as possible. There would still be a group of old people that should have retired from 'serving' the village already, insisting on her being interrogated and other things possibly.

Then there was also Danzo's splinter group Root. She still wasn't sure what to do there either. She knew he wanted to gain control but he also cared for the village and wouldn't take over openly. Sometimes their 'missions' actually did help out, and all of the failed ones didn't get traced back to Konoha. Once he heard of the girl's abilities he might take an interest in her or use her as a way to get Naruto to join him.

She sighed and then said, "Alright ask my assistant to show the two in then. No doubt Naruto is waiting with her. He seems just as nervous about this as her"

Jiraiya joked saying, "Oh and how do you know that Tsunade-hime?"

The blonde woman laughed and said, "Otherwise he would have already been in here by now. He doesn't care if a door is locked and visitors aren't allowed." With that Jiraiya asked the assistant to show them in to the office.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto was nervous and hoping things would go well. He wasn't sure what he would do if for some reason they didn't want Alice in Konoha. He wouldn't turn traitor, but he couldn't just leave her alone either. He would have been pacing probably if someone wasn't already doing that. For all of his nerves they were nothing compared to Alice's.

The dark haired girl was pacing back and forth while also fidgeting with her playing cards. She would have probably brought out her knife like usual but she figured the receptionist and the ANBU wouldn't like the sight of a girl playing with a knife in the Hokage tower.

Fortunately they didn't know how dangerous her cards were, so she was tossing them up and catching them. She was glad she seemed to be better at that since her time in Wonderland, where she would sometimes accidentally stick herself in the head with one. This never hurt but that was inside Wonderland not out here. She could handle it but Naruto would get concerned and the guards would suddenly be even more cautious with her since they would then know harmless toys were used as weapons by her.

After a close call where a card almost got stuck in her arm she put them away. She sighed and sat down with her arms crossed and looked down for a bit. Naruto looked at her and tried to reassure her, "I'm sure everything will be ok Alice. Just be yourself and she won't mind letting you stay."

Alice stood back up and started to pace again as she said, "Easy for you to say Naruto. You two are close from what you told me about her. Besides how can I be myself when Jiraiya is telling her pretty much everything?"

Naruto frowned and said to her, "Alice. You know that she would have to hear the truth anyways. Besides her and Jiraiya are old teammates and despite how they act around each other at times they are close."

Alice just couldn't stay still for some reason. She then brought out the rubber ball that she uses with her jacks and started to bounce the ball from the top of one boot to the other. She was feeling a bit embarrassed that she had resorted to old habits since coming here and she wasn't fully sure why. Part of it she thought was because she felt a bit relieved that she could be more like herself here and was now free of her haunted past. Maybe it was her acting out just a bit since she was always the 'perfect young lady' when she was around Bumby and others. She was never allowed to do anything that might be considered childish because she hated how people looked at her normally due to her madness, and the officers would see it as reason to drag her in for being 'off her rocker'. She knew they could get away with it too because they had done it a few times to her before.

She had to admit though it was a good way to pass the time playing with her weapons again. If Naruto wasn't so quite she would have just talked to him while she paced. She also wasn't about to let herself dwell too much on how the meeting would go with Tsunade. Her mind would quickly go to depressing if she did that which wouldn't be good. She had started to notice certain things happened depending on her emotions if they got strong. She didn't know why, she thought that maybe it was something to do with this world. Strange things seemed to happen when people felt certain ways here after all. She had seen Jiraiya go all white sometimes and cry, over exaggerated tears, yet Naruto didn't seem too worried by it. The man would then just snap back to normal somehow. It was very curious.

The ANBU watching from outside the window found her mannerisms strange but had to admit they were fun to watch. One said to the others, "Her juggling those cards was dangerous. Do you think she put them away because she almost hurt herself or because she thinks we haven't figured out they are as sharp as shuriken and if she stuck herself we would then notice and subdue her?"

The bear masked one said, "No idea. Wonder what the ball does?" Cat threw out a suggestion, "Maybe it is her version of a smoke bomb? Really though I don't think I have ever seen a ninja that plays with their weapons when they are bored in such an innocent way."

Naruto was watching Alice as she kept playing with her weapons and smiled a little bit. He thought it was kind of cute how she juggled her cards and the way she played with the ball. He was keeping count without her knowing when suddenly she missed it. "Not bad Alice-chan 53 kicks." He said to her grinning. Alice looked at him and gave a slight blush as she said, "You were counting?" He nodded and said to her, "Not really much else to do here other than watch you. Not that I mind." He finished quietly.

Alice then blushed a little more, picked up the ball put it away as well and smiled as she sat down. She actually liked the thought of him watching her. _"Maybe he likes it when I play with my toys. Maybe he won't hate me if things don't go well."_ She let out a breath and relaxed as she said to Naruto, "Maybe I don't need to worry so much like you said. If for some reason I am told to leave Konoha would you at least visit with me sometime Naruto?"

Naruto gave her a soft smile and stared into her entrancing green eyes and said to her quietly, "Sure I would Alice-chan. You better believe it."

Alice blushed a bit. Naruto really did make her feel warm inside and loved as a friend at least. "I should have known that. Thanks for saying it though." She said to him and then gave him a soft but lovely smile.

Naruto turned away and blushed after that but looked at her again. He was about to say something to her when the receptionists came and called for them.

"Naruto and Alice the Hokage would like to speak with you two now." The receptionists said from her desk.

The two stood up and headed to the Fifth Hokage's office. The ANBU Watching the two returned to their normal posts since their job was complete. They too were actually hoping the meeting went well. They really didn't want to have to deal with Alice. They weren't scared or anything. it is just the girl was too much of an unknown, and that made things annoying at times.

{-} {-} {-}

Jiraiya stood by a wall to the side of the office waiting for the two teens to meet with the Hokage. He had a feeling it would go well but he was still a bit nervous.

The door opened and Both Naruto and Alice walked in side by side. Naruto was the picture of nerves despite his trying to hide them. Alice was hiding her nerves very well. Alice then took a step forward and gave a curtsy before greeting the Hokage. "I am Alice Liddell. It is a pleasure to meet you Tsunade-sama. I hope this meeting won't disappoint you." Alice then stepped back. Tsunade was actually caught off guard from the formal greeting and returned it, "I hope so as well Miss Liddell. I am Tsunade the Fifth Hokage."

Jiraiya could tell Alice was nervous but she still did well putting on a brave face. He then frowned unnoticed by the others as he thought to himself, _"It is a shame she got so good at hiding her nerves from necessity in her past."_

Tsunade gave the girl a calculating look. She thought the girl at the very least seemed brave and well mannered. She knew the girl was only putting on a brave front not wanting to ruin her first impression. This was from experience though, and not because the dark haired girl gave anything away. She could also tell the girl wouldn't give into fear. She could tell the girl was a fighter. She didn't feel any reason to try and test the girl in that respect after hearing what Jiraiya said she had been through and how she handled herself whenever they had run ins with ninjas or other hostel forces. Also she had to respect the girl for her polite manners. Good manners were hard to come by in the ninja world.

"Hello Naruto. It is nice to see you back safe and sound. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you brought a girl back with you. I only hope you didn't become too much of a pervert thanks to Wart sage over here." She said with a bit of a laugh as she noticed Jiraiya shed a single large tear while saying, "Why so mean Tsunade-hime?"

She was about to laugh out loud when she heard Alice speak up. "Despite what Mr. Super Pervert may have taught him, Naruto at least doesn't introduce himself as a super pervert. He seems to also keep his focus rather than wondering off to the nearest bath house at any opportune moment."

Tsunade gave a chuckle. She then motioned for the two to sit down before they continued their meeting. Alice sat down, but Naruto didn't. After talking with Alice about her memories and her family in general he had realized that even if they weren't actual parent and child he had always seen Tsunade as a mother figure in his life or well the closest he has in his life. Naruto instead walked up to Tsunade and gave her a hug in greeting before saying to her, "Glad to be back." Tsunade was a bit surprised but she returned it lightly. He then went and sat by Alice smiling.

Tsunade then sat behind her desk and started their meeting. "Jiraiya told me many things about you Liddell-san. Is it actually true you were summoned here?"

Alice pursed her lips and thought for a couple of seconds before answering, "I found it just as hard to believe that I was summoned into this world as I am sure anyone would. I have been through strange situations before but that still doesn't make being brought into a different world from my own any easier than it sounds. I assume that Jiraiya told you all about my past?"

Tsunade gave a nod and said, "I find that hard to believe as well. You seem to have recovered better than people would in that case."

"It wasn't easy to do so Hokage-sama. I suffered many years before I could recover and then I had the relapse as I am sure he told you about, a year later." Alice said to her.

Tsunade looked at the girl trying to read her. For all her experience and training she could tell Alice was being truthful. "Usually people don't get over being trained to be a prostitute by their sister's murderer. How did you manage since he also burned down your house and your parents?"

Alice looked darkly and the room darkened too as she replied, "He was my sister's murderer and rapist. I still feel some anger when I think about it. So I am not fully recovered from that. I won't stand by while others do such a horrendous deed if I notice it happening. But it won't hinder me either. I have had my 'vengeance' on him but it was learning the truth of what happened that night which set me free of the haunting memories. I am in control of my emotions now though… for the most part."

"What do you wish to do Alice?" Tsunade said wondering what to do with the girl. She also wanted to learn what drove her.

"I wish to stay and help out Konoha as well as Naruto here, if I am allowed to stay in the Village. Though really it is much more like a city than a village. Villages are supposed to be small. Anyways if I am not allowed to stay in the village then I will help Naruto out regardless." The young woman said.

"Do you think you should be allowed to stay? How can we be sure you aren't some kind of spy?" Asked Tsunade.

Alice looked a bit puzzled by the question, "Yes I think I should be allowed to stay. If there is a question about my loyalty. You can interrogate me, I will cooperate. But really I don't see any reason for such a thing. I think it would just be a waste of everyone's time and effort."

Tsunade looked at her and then said, "Why do you think that?"

Alice still remained civil trying to figure out the meaning of this questioning but she answered nonetheless, "Well I am from a different world that I don't even know if I can return to or not. Jiraiya and Naruto here are the only people I know in this world, and even if for some ridiculous reason I turned traitor it wouldn't matter. All you would have to do is have Naruto here summon me and you can pull a Queen of Hearts on me and take my head. No offense but it seems only to make sense for me to be loyal to Naruto and Konoha."

"What kind of skills do you have?" Asked Tsunade continuing the questioning.

"I am very good at using weapons and I have some abilities. I will admit that I haven't really had a chance to fully test out all I can do. I just tried my basic skills I already knew and worked on making them better. Somehow I can still tell there is much more I can do. I just thought I shouldn't try to experiment with things too much while we were traveling. I didn't want to risk hurting myself while we were moving and becoming a burden. I have a chance to start anew here and be someone that is seen as helpful rather than a burden on society. I have unique weapons, I can also become smoke and butterflies. I can triple jump and I can also float down after a jump. I also have my hysteria mode, though that thing is a last resort so I don't use it lightly if at all. Other than that I am not fully sure what I can do. Oh I can also shrink and then return to normal size."

Naruto felt he should try to help since he knew more about ninja skills so he chimed in, "She is really fast and strong. She also seems to be a good sensor, she notices people hiding their selves that others don't."

Tsunade decided to do a quick little test about Alice's sensing ability. She made some hand signs signally for the ANBU to be replaced with a different random number of new guards. After they quietly made their change she asked Alice, "How many guards can you detect Alice?"

Alice took a second and then answered, "There are four in this office." She then pointed to where they were hidden accurately. Tsunade was about to congratulate the girl, but Alice continued, "There are three on the rooftop of this building, two by the front doors to this office. I am glad that at least the three from earlier, which had been following me around the village left. If they were still around I would think that over kill. Oh also there are five resting in that side room by the receptionist desk. I didn't see a door however so I wonder how they got in there. Curious indeed."

Tsunade was surprised. That was really amazing. She knew the ANBU were good at hiding their selves so it wasn't their fault Alice detected them.

Jiraiya gave a chuckle and said, "I told you she was good enough to detect Zetsu from Akatsuki. He is their spy master."

Tsunade gave a bit of a satisfied smirk as she said to Alice, "I think you will make a fine addition to our ranks Alice. You will have to be interrogated since it is required of all newcomers. Given the fact that you are technically Naruto's summon as well. It will be just a standard questioning, that I think you will get through with no problems. I won't have them do a mind sweep either. Though from what I have heard that will be a favor for the mind walker really."

Naruto smiled and was about to cheer but then a horrid thought came to him so he asked, "What about the council advisors? Won't they be a problem?"

Tsunade gave an evil smile and answered him, "She is very skilled and will be a great asset to the village. She has no intention of betraying us and even if she could there isn't any way she could actually get away, since you can summon her. Besides it is my decision on if we add new ninja to our ranks or not. Also if they still want to fight I can tell them it doesn't matter because she is a unique summon that you can use and since you are a ninja in the village she too is part of the village. There is nothing they can do about it. In fact I look forward to bringing this up to them." Tsunade then started to cackle lowly.

Jiraiya then asked, "What will be her rank? Or are you still going to test that out?"

Tsunade just said, "She will be a Genin. I know she is older than most Genin but I can't really see a reason to make her a higher rank than Naruto. Besides she is brand new to the program. So she will start at the bottom like everyone does."

Naruto frowned at this, feeling somehow he was responsible for her starting at the bottom. He then looked up and saw Alice smiling as she said, "I am fine with that. I will show that I am useful." She then stood up gave Naruto a hug and said in his ear, "I get to stay. Isn't that great?" Naruto smiled and said to her "Yes it is Alice-chan!"

Alice then broke the hug and turned to bow to the Hokage, "Thanks Tsunade-sama. I won't disappoint you."

"Good to hear. I won't accept someone without a drive to do what they can for Konoha in my ninja ranks." Tsunade beamed at the girl. She then Said to Naruto, "Naruto go ahead and wait outside. I need to discuss some things with Alice and Jiraiya here alone. Besides I bet you would like to talk with my Apprentice. She should be with Shizune on the second floor."

Naruto smiled and said, "Thanks Granny Tsunade." He then ran out and dodged the chair that flew his way while laughing.

Tsunade then looked back at the two remaining visitors in her office as if nothing had happened and said, "Now then about your interrogation Alice this is how it will work…"

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto made it to the second floor and knocked on the door to Shizune's office. A little bit eager to see Sakura and Shizune both and catch up with them.

"Come in." He heard Shizune call. He opened the door and saw Shizune sitting behind a desk and a familiar head of pink hair sitting in front of her.

"Hey Shizune-neechan! Sakura-chan! How are you two doing? Granny Tsunade told me to come and say hello to you two." He was smiling broadly.

Shizune rushed over and gave him a hug saying, "Naruto. So good to see you back! How were things with your trip? You really have grown!"

She would have said more but right then a medic-nin came and said she was needed in the hospital. She sighed and said to Naruto, "Guess we will have to catch up later Naruto. It is good to see you. If you want you and Sakura can talk in here. Bye." She let her shoulders droop for a moment before regaining her composure and going off to the hospital.

Sakura smiled at Naruto and said "Hello Naruto. It is good to see you again. How did you know it was me?"

Naruto gave a small chuckle and answered, "I would always recognize you Sakura. Nice to see you too." She figured it was because he might still have a crush on her or maybe because they were teammates for a long time.

Naruto kept smiling and thought to himself, _"Really No one else with pink hair would be in Shizune's office and Tsunade told me she was here."_ She gave him a quick but friendly hug and then stood back to look him over.

Naruto was wearing orange pants, though not as bright as his jumpsuit was. He was wearing a form fitting jacket, mostly black with orange on the sides. He had a longer black headband now and wore black shinobi sandals. He was taller than her now as well. She actually would say he was attractive. She wasn't interested in him in that way though.

"You look nice Naruto. You're taller than me now and you look stronger too. Do I look any different?" She asked him trying to show off just a bit that she had grown as well. She stared at him with her light green eyes showing eagerness for his response.

Naruto looked her over. She was definitely grown up in every way still smaller in the chest than other girls but Naruto thought it worked for her best this way. She was wearing a red top with black boots, black gloves, black shorts and a pink apron skirt along with matching elbow pads. She had kept her hair short and used her headband to hold it back. Naruto had to admit she looked pretty. He then smiled and said to her, "You look great Sakura-chan. You look stronger yourself. What has Tsunade been teaching you?"

She gave him a pleasant smile and then said to him, "Why don't we go to the dango stand nearby. I am hungry and I could use the fresh air. I bet you are hungry too."

Had he not grown to like Alice so much he probably would have instantly jumped at the chance to go with her on a 'date'. He was still thinking when his stomach growled and spoke up for him. Apparently the ramen from earlier wasn't enough. He gave a bit of an embarrassed chuckle and said, "I guess so. Seems that my nerves from meeting Tsunade earlier burned off some of the ramen I had."

Sakura gave a giggle and thought to herself, _"He is definitely still the same Naruto."_ She was actually a bit nervous Naruto would have changed a lot and it would have been like he was a stranger when he returned. She then said, "Alright let's get going. Remember this isn't a date you pay for yours I pay for mine."

Naruto to her shock didn't argue or anything as they left. When they reached the door and stepped outside the two missed seeing Alice being lead to her interrogation.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto followed Sakura to the Dango stand. They had a bit of light conversation on the way there. Naruto enjoyed the talk on the way but still felt a bit guilty, like he was somehow betraying Alice since he used to have a big crush on Sakura. There was still a small part of him that still liked her that way, though it was getting smaller as time went on. He thought it was a bit ridiculous though because he wasn't actually with Alice or anything that he could tell.

He was thinking about his feelings for Alice in more depth as they kept walking. He always felt happy when he was around Alice. Their time together meant more to him than most of his time with others. He had several precious people but he was starting to think that Alice was becoming more important to him.

They finally made it to the shop and then placed their orders and sat on a bench next to each other and started to talk.

"So Sakura you are a Chunin now huh? How did the exam go getting it?" Naruto asked her.

She was a bit surprised that he knew she was a Chunin now. "I was put on a temporary team with some others that lost a teammate of their own. It was much easier the second time around. How did you know I was a Chunin Naruto?"

Naruto gave a grin and said, "I noticed the tanto on your back above your medical pouch."

Sakura gave an "oh" and despite knowing that he was looking at her butt as well, she decided not to hit him this time. For some reason he seemed more mature than before if only by a bit.

Naruto then asked her another question, "Who else is a Chunin now?"

Sakura looked away for a bit. She wasn't sure how he would take the answer to that question, "Well… I won't lie. Everyone is except you Naruto. Neji is now a Jonin as well."

Naruto sighed and responded, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised… Everyone is Chunin except me huh?" He seemed to be lost in thought.

Sakura tried to cheer him up. "I'm sure once you take the test you will ace it no problem this time around. I mean you went through all of that training with Jiraiya. I'm sure you learned some really cool things. I don't think you should worry Naruto."

Naruto put his head back and then gave a little laugh. He then said to Sakura, "Well I did say even if I didn't get Chunin. I would just become the first Genin to become Hokage during our first test."

Sakura gave a little laugh hearing him say that remembering how he stood up to Ibiki and proclaimed that without any fear. "See I don't think you have anything to worry about. So what all did you learn Naruto? I bet you got a lot of instruction from Jiraiya during your trip."

Naruto then sighed and hung his head for before saying, "I didn't learn as much as I would like to have learned. My basics where a mess so he ending up correcting them, which took some time. He did teach me strategy when using my clones. On my own I did manage to improve the Rasengan and created some different versions of it, still though it seemed I benefited most in my training towards the end of our trip." He then smiled at Sakura and continued, "I started learning how to use nature transformation chakra. Found out I have a wind elemental affinity. It is tough training so I still need to work on it a bit but I started on it well enough and I know a couple of wind release moves."

Sakura was impressed that despite his claim he seemed to have actually learned a lot.

Naruto then asked her, "What About you Sakura? I bet Tsunade taught you a ton more stuff than Ero-sannin did me."

Sakura smiled and said, "Actually Tsunade-sama is usually busy as Hokage. So I got most of my Medic training from Shizune-sensei. Tsunade-sama would find time to teach me more advanced techniques and a couple of surprises though. She was really tough as a sensei. It was painful." Sakura shuddered remembering the bruises she got and the days she had to rest so her body would recover.

Naruto gave a little laugh. "I can only imagine what she would have put you through."

Sakura gave him a light hit on the shoulder which he laughed at in response. She then asked him, "So did you meet a lot of people on your trip Naruto?"

Naruto smiled and had, for a moment, a dreamy expression recalling his meeting and several of the talks he had with Alice. He then looked back to Sakura and answered, "Yah I did. I met Sasame-chan again from the Fuma Clan."

"OH?! How is Sasame-chan doing now?" Asked Sakura with eagerness.

"She is doing great. She got stronger too. The Fuma clan seems to be well on their way to regaining their former glory. She told me since Orochimaru's 'village' isn't actually a village that helps the Land of Sound, the Fuma clan have taken it on their selves to do so instead. We actually interrupted one of her missions by mistake. We didn't recognize her right away and thought she was a defenseless girl about to be taken by force from a group of bandits. It turned out that she was luring them in close so she could make quick work of them. She said they had been interrupting trade routes lately."

He gave another laugh and continued, "She was about to attack before she realized who we were. She stayed the night with us before heading back to report that her mission was complete. She told us that since she didn't need help she would take all of the credit for it at supper that night." He wasn't sure why he didn't tell Sakura about Alice. He guessed it would be better if Alice was there herself to speak up and he didn't want to answer 500 questions yet.

Sakura laughed and said, "That sounds like her. I remember how we told her to stay back while we took care of the remaining members of her clan that sided with Orochimaru, and she still came and insisted she help us in the end. It probably was a good thing she did. I don't think we would have been remotely successful otherwise."

Naruto remembered what Sasame had also told him about Alice and he gave a little smile, "She likes to help out when she can now still. Though she also likes teasing a bit."

Sakura noticed his smile and mistook it for him liking Sasame and said, "Oh? Was there a little spark between you two? She was a cute girl I recall when we met her back then. I bet she is pretty now."

Naruto gave a hearty laugh and said, "No nothing like that Sakura. I think of her as a friend nothing more. She wasn't happy but she understood when I told her this."

Sakura thought for a minute and then noticed Naruto seemed to be thinking about someone and she could tell it was a girl. She didn't think it was her though. She wondered who it was and what they meant to him. She saw this as a mystery to unravel and thought she would probe just a bit. "So then who are you thinking about Naruto? I can tell you are thinking about someone and they are a girl. What is on your mind?"

Naruto cursed Sakura for being smart. He didn't want her to find out yet. He just gave a grin and said to her, "Nothing for you to worry about yet Sakura."

Sakura was about to ask what he meant by yet when suddenly a cat masked ANBU appeared next to them and said to Naruto, "It went well. There weren't any problems." Sakura was even more interested now. _"What is going on with Naruto? He is still the same but now he is also a bigger mystery." _ She thought to herself.

The ANBU then turned to face them both and said, "Hokage-sama would like to see you two in her office now. If you will come with me."

Sakura would hold her questions until later. The two then grabbed an arm each as Neko Shushined them to the Hokage's office.

{-} {-} {-}

Once they landed in the office Naruto looked around expectantly but soon frowned when he saw that only Tsunade was there. This intrigued Sakura even more. _"He really is acting strange I wonder what is going on."_ She thought to herself.

Tsunade then looked up and answered Naruto's questions before he could ask them, "Jiraiya is off looking for a place to stay. Don't worry everything is fine." She gave him a pleasant smile as she noticed he seemed to relax a bit more. "Now we just need to wait for one more person before I can go on with what I am about to say. Unfortunately it might take a little time to retrieve them."

Naruto sat down and Sakura did as well she didn't want to ask out right what was going on right this second. She liked puzzles and mysteries. So they waited quietly. Fortunately it didn't take as long as Tsunade feared it would have for the other person to arrive.


	6. Alice's interrogation and Bells again?

Title: Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: Like before I don't really own anything.

* * *

Chapter 6: Alice's interrogation and Bells again?

Alice followed the guards in a rather relaxed mood; even the guards weren't really as weary of her as they usually would be for an escort into T and I. They were explained in the office by their Hokage that this was merely a formality and that Alice wasn't a threat and would be a great asset to Konoha. It was still a step that needed to be taken anyways though.

After a few minutes passed Alice and her escorts found their selves in a hall way in front of the interrogation room. Alice thought it wasn't really that bad. She didn't mind the lowly lit corridor or the giant wooden doors with the black metal fittings and spikes. The hall could have used a cleaning but nothing too bad. To her it wasn't anywhere near as horrible as the simple rusty metal doors with only a small barred window to see out into a hall that was barely lit with chains hanging from the ceiling and strange stains on the walls. This place was by comparison rather pleasant. She was even humming herself a little tune.

The guards hated walking to the T and I offices. They thought the corridor was a bit creepy. The big and imposing wooden doors with spikes and only torches lighting the path with hanging cobwebs on them and a bit of a draft gave it a rather hopeless feel. They could have used real lights and insulated this hall but this was the way they took prisoners, possible traitors, and outsiders so they for went contemporary for creepy. It was another way to psych out those soon to be interrogated and weaken their resolve.

Alice, to their shock seemed to be unfazed by all of this and they figured she didn't think it creepy enough so she was humming a tune which made the place seem more hopeless and morbid for their liking. Alice then looked to one of the guards and said in a cheery voice, "I say. If this place was cleaned it would seem like some grand hallway in a castle of old. It has a certain medieval feel to it. It wouldn't be surprising if this was the hall to an honorable guard captain's quarters to use during winter. I even find it a bit romantic. A secret Lover uses the back passage to meet her knight in shining armor that feels he isn't worthy yet of her affections despite her insistence that his love is all she needs. He has taken up a monumental task and she helps him in any way she can. Giving him her love for refuge while he waits for yet another hard battle, in fact the last battle before he finally proposes to her. It really is enchanting in a way."

The guards weren't sure what to make of it. Maybe the fact that she is unbound makes her feel more at ease. One of the Female guards actually thought about what she said and surprisingly agreed with Alice's fantasy. The tallest guard in the back then said, "You aren't scared of this place? I mean usually those that enter here are kicking and screaming unless they have a smirk on their face thinking they are above it all and won't let it get to them."

Alice then cocked her head a slight bit and placed her right index finger on her lips in thought. She responded after a few seconds, "I don't really see that. Then again I have been in much worse places. I still shudder at memories of the Queen of Hearts castle walls, and Rutledge along with the dollhouse world." She then gave a shiver and folded her arms across her chest. This caused all of the guards to wonder the same thing. _"What kind of places are those if they seem worse than here?"_ The leading guard then knocked on the large doors and waited for them to open.

Once the doors opened. they saw a man sitting back in his chair with a cigarette in his mouth. He was wearing the normal T and I uniform. He had the entire top half of his head wrapped in bandages including his eyes. He looked up and motioned to the chair on the other side of his desk and said, "Why don't you take a seat Miss Alice?" The guards were a bit shocked. The man in front of them was very good but also known to be rash and quick tempered. He had slammed a Genin into a wall during a Chunin exam for talking back to him. The guards then went into the observation room for the interrogation to server as witnesses.

Alice made her way over and sat down. The man then introduced himself to her, "I am Tonbo Tobitake. I am a Chunin and member of Konoha's T and I division."

Alice then stood up, causing the man to raise his guard, gave him a curtsy and said, "I am Alice Liddell though I guess you already know that Tobitake-san. Pleased to meet you." She then sat back down.

Tonbo relaxed and was surprised by her politeness. He said to her, "Likewise Alice-san." She then asked him a question before he started, "I hate to bother you but is there any chance I could have some tea? I am thirsty after seeing the village and meeting with Hokage-sama." She would even settle for green tea at this point, which she figured is what she would be served.

Tonbo raised an eyebrow, though it couldn't be seen through his bandages, and clapped his hands and ordered some tea for Alice, seeing no reason not to grant her request.

Once the tea was served and Alice politely took a sip he started doing his job. "I have been told, Hokage-sama has already said she approves of you joining our forces. This being case I have been told to use this as an opportunity to get some background information on you and to find out a little more about you. Also feel free to ask me any questions. Do you understand?" Alice gave a nod. He was told to also see if she was lying or not through their interaction; and if she was to be a possible threat to the village, meaning she might be likely to turn traitor or something else, though he didn't say that to her.

He continued after looking at her file. "I see you are unaffiliated with a village Alice-san. Yet you seem to be quiet skilled, why is that? if you don't mind my asking?"

Alice answered, "I lost my family when I was young. I had to learn to fend for myself. That being the case one must acquire certain skills if they wish to survive."

He asked the next question, "There isn't much detail about how you came to meet Naruto and Jiraiya-sama on their trip. What exactly happened?"

Alice said evenly, "I am sorry Tobitake-san but I can't go into detail about that. I was asked by Tsunade-sama to keep that secret for now and I am only allowed to tell a few people. Unfortunately for your curiosity's sake, you are not on that list. I hope you aren't offended."

Tobitake-san gave a little smile, it was actually a test. He knew from the file he received that she wasn't allowed to tell many about the details of her origin. Sakura Haruno was on it and so was Kakashi as well. There was even a little note next to the names that said, 'Members on the list may change if Team 7 is reinstated. Alice doesn't have to tell the people on this list, it is just that she can if she so chooses.' He was seeing if she could follow orders even simple ones like that.

Tonbo continued asking questions and Alice continued answering them to the best of her abilities. During the interrogation he noticed that she seemed to be looking him over thoughtfully. It was actually making him blush a bit, though you couldn't tell because of the bandages. He said to her, "Is there anything you wish to ask me? I did say you could after all at the start of our meeting."

Alice thought for a bit and then asked, "I don't wish to offend you but I can't help but wonder at your bandages. I mean can you see? Or not? You seem to be able to see but if that is the case then I wonder why do you have the bandages on your head?"

Tonbo was actually surprised. No one had ever really asked him that, at least not someone that was a part of Konoha and loyal. He then gave a little chuckle and said to her, "Actually it is sort of a gimmick I have. Do you want to see my eyes?"

Alice nodded barely able to contain her curiosity. Tonbo unwrapped his bandages and revealed a normal unmarked face with his eyes closed. He then opened his eyes. His eyes had purple irises with 'X' shaped black pupils with a green ring that was slowly turning around each pupil. Alice stared for a bit in wonder.

He then gave a pleasant smile and said to her, "It is my bloodline limit ability. My eyes are able to see in all directions similar to the Hyuga but unlike them I can't see tenketsu and through objects except for my bandages nor can I see every direction at once. I can however see others emotions and tell if they are hiding something. I can tell you are hiding a good bit Alice-san. However, since you are a part of this village and not perceived as a threat I won't try to find out what you are hiding. My eyes are called Circle Vision Eyes. Since I can see 360 degrees without moving my head. It is part of the reason my name means dragonfly. I keep them hidden to psyche out my opponents and then when I am interrogating someone being difficult I then glare at them with my eyes and tear the bandages off. It makes for a very dramatic effect that usually gets results."

A couple of the guards passed money between each other, in Konoha there were many bets about things. One of them is if someone would finally tell Kakashi off for reading porn in public (Few knew Alice already did so). Another one was what was under Tonbo's bandages. He hadn't really needed to tear them off in front of an audience.

Alice said with a smile, "That sounds most useful Tonbo-san. Also I will say your eyes are pretty."

He rubbed his neck and said sheepishly, "Thanks Alice-chan. Anyways, that is it for your interrogation. Hokage will receive the official report, but I believe she wanted to talk to you a bit more after this. Go out that door over there and you will find a quick passage to her office."

Alice bowed and exited through the door. Her guards then went back to their original duties for the day.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice quickly found herself back in Tsunade's office once again speaking to the woman Hokage. "So Alice do you have any specifics you want for your home here?"

"I would like something modest I think, like an apartment. I am only one person and hardly need a large house or anything. I would like to be close to Naruto if you don't mind. He is the only person I know here close to my age. Also you don't need to worry about giving me a stipend or anything. Jiraiya gave me some startup money and we managed to capture a few small bounties during our trip so I should be good until I start getting mission pay."

Tsunade smiled at the girl and said to her, "Good to hear. Well then I have a place in mind for you. The rent should be good though you might need to make some improvements once you get there. Do you have any last questions before you go Alice?"

Alice thought for a moment and then said, "Are all of the men perverts when they are off duty here?"

Tsunade almost dropped her sake cup. She hadn't expected a question like that. "Why do you ask?'

Alice then said, "Well I mean Jiraiya is very perverted and while I was looking around Konoha outside of Ichiraku's Ramen. I met Kakashi-san, who was reading one of those perverted books Mr. Super Pervert writes. So I was wondering if that was the norm or if they were exceptions. I did tell Kakashi-san off for his disgraceful display of his pornographic reading material."

Tsunade then burst out laughing. She never though in her life time someone would finally confront Kakashi about reading his porn books in public outside of her but she was too busy to do so. A few other women would just get angry but never say anything or they would lash out at something or someone else. She was starting to like Alice even more.

Jiraiya just sighed as he sat in his chair thinking they were just ignoring him right now while they talked. He almost felt like an Aburame, it was getting so bad.

Tsunade finally stopped laughing. "I think most men are to some degree at least. However most of them have the decency to at least partially control their urges." Alice gave a nod of understanding. Tsunade then said, "Anyways Jiraiya take her to the same apartment complex Naruto is in. Give this to the Landlord there and tell him there is no arguing the rent price.

Jiraiya nodded and said, "We should go that way right now and get you settled in Alice." He smiled brightly at her. He would admit he was a Super Pervert and he didn't mind Alice calling him that sometimes, knowing that it was similar to how Naruto called him Ero-sannin. It may seem rude and it was rude but he knew they both did like him in their own way.

Alice stood, bowed to Tsunade and thanked her before they headed off to her new home. As they left Tsunade wondered aloud, "Where is that lazy Jonin anyways. He should have been here by now even with his usual tardiness."

She then called a few ANBU to hunt the one-eyed Jonin down and if needed drag him here by his feet. She then called for Neko. The purple haired woman with the cat mask appeared waiting for orders. "Go and bring my student Sakura and Naruto here. Tell Naruto 'It went well. There weren't any problems.' He will know what it means." Neko nodded before she disappeared to go and get the two young adults and bring them to Tsunade's office.

{-} {-} {-}

After leaving Alice's side Kakashi was busy at the moment helping a little old lady cross the street. He came across her after he had to double back and take a different route to avoid a black cat. He also ran into a little girl's cat that got stuck up in a tree. The little girl was bawling her eyes out and since he had decided to put away his porn book he couldn't help but feel compelled to help her out. He couldn't pretend to not notice without the book.

Once he got the cat from the tree the little girl thanked him and gave him a hug. Her older sister then came and asked what was going on. Once the little girl explained what had happened her older sister thanked Kakashi. The older sister was in her mid-twenties and had a sultry voice and curvy body to make Anko-chan jealous. The woman had lovely Auburn hair and she smelled of a wonderful perfume. The lovely lady then gave him a hug for payment for helping her sister's cat and a smoking kiss on the cheek for helping her sister. It took all of his ninja training to not get a nose bleed rocket from the feel of her soft and ample chest. She then gave him a giggle and left with her sister.

After some time Kakashi finally stopped staring at the clouds and continued his trek to the Hokage's office. He was in shock from the smoking kiss earlier for quite a while.

As he kept going he eventually came to the "Road of Life". On this road as always he got lost… "Why the hell is this road so confusing… The name makes people think I am lying when I tell them I got lost on the road of life… I swear some Hokage in the past must have gotten bored one day and decided to make a sick joke by making the most confusing road possible and then called it 'Road of Life'. Oh well I am used to it. Still it isn't my fault I always want to help out the civilians of Konoha." The one-eyed Jonin said aloud to voice his frustration.

After what seemed like a couple of hours he found himself in front of the forest of Death somehow. He was actually relieved he knew he could shushin from here to the office. He was just about to when he heard a series of pops and three ANBU were next to him. He looked at them and one he recognized said to him, "Kakashi-sempai. You need to stop being so superstitious and getting lost on the 'Road of Life'." The other two ANBU groaned in sympathy. They too knew how much of a pain that road was to navigate.

Kakashi eye-smiled and said, "At least you guys know about it! Everyone else thinks I am just making some lame excuse when I try to explain it to them. I will try not to be so superstitious but last time that happened was on my genin's team mission to wave where we only made it back in one piece because of Naruto and pure luck."

The ANBU nodded knowing all about that. "Well Kakashi-sempai. We were told to bring you to the Hokage any way possible. Do we need to do anything or will you shushin from here?"

Kakashi thought for a minute and said, "I can shushin from here. I was about to do just that when you three appeared. I will tell her I got the message." With that the ANBU returned to their duties and Kakashi shushined to the office.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto and Sakura were starting to wonder what was up. They already figured out it had something to do with Kakashi-sensei though. He was the only one that would ever be this late to anything, even his own funeral. Hell if the apocalypse happened in his life time he would probably miss it because it would be over by the time he arrived.

They heard the whoosh of leaves and saw the one-eyed Jonin standing in the center of the room. He eye smiled and said, "Yo! I got the message Hokage-sama. What is going on?"

Tsunade knew better but couldn't help but ask nonetheless, "Where were you Kakashi? You were supposed to be here hours ago."

Kakashi cried over exaggerated tears and said in a sorrowful voice, "None of y'all would believe me anyways… I am not going to bother answering that. Let's get on with it Hokage-sama."

Naruto smiling since he was happy to see his old sensei regardless of his tardiness said, "Well if you didn't make such bad excuses we might actually believe you Kaka-sensei."

Kakashi seemed to instantly recover and said, "Oh? You think you can say that to a Jonin like me just because you went on a training trip Naruto-kun?"

He then ruffled the kid's hair like he always did and said to him, "It is good to see you're back Naruto. Hope it all went well."

Naruto chuckled and said, "heh heh you know me Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi gave a chuckle in return and then said, "Nice to see you again as well Sakura. Finally not busy in the Hospital or training with Tsunade? I haven't seen you two in a while."

Tsunade grinned and then said, "Well you were busy with high level missions and training yourself so it isn't a wonder. Anyways. I called you three here to discuss the matter of Team Seven."

All three Ninja stood still and gave her their full attention, "You currently have a member missing and I know you wish to retrieve him. However, I think you; Kakashi, should see if they are up for the task. Once you have the evidence you need to reach a decision give me a report and we will decide what to do from there on. Understood?"

"Yes Hokage-sama. You two still know where our old training ground is right?" Kakashi asked his former students. The two nodded determination shining in their eyes. "Good meet me there in five."

The two teens then shot out the window and made their way quickly to the meeting ground.

Tsunade said to Kakashi before he left, "You have an idea on how to find out if they are ready or not then?"

Kakashi simply nodded before vanishing in a pile of leaves. Tsunade grinned to herself as they all left. She had full confidence they would prove their selves worthy to their former sensei.

{-} {-} {-}

Kakashi arrived shortly after his two former students. Naruto was grinning and said, "Well at least you are only a little bit late Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi rolled his visible eye and said, "Yah Hokage-sama wanted to ask me something before I left."

Sakura gave a little giggle and said, "And you have a believable excuse this time. Things seem to be looking up for you Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi sighed and shook his head before getting serious. He then said, "Alright you guys heard Tsunade-sama. I am to test and see if you guys are up for the task before us. I figured a little bit of a redo was in order." He then pulled out two bells and gave them a jingle. He then continued, "The rules are a bit different this time around. You two have to actually get them from me before the sun sets. I will be using my Sharingan this time from the start. Also Naruto, you can't summon toads to help you. Everything else is fair game though. Understood?"

The two teammates nodded their agreement.

Kakashi eye-smiled and said, "Alright… GO!"

He vanished to what he thought a safe distance. He looked around and couldn't spot them like he did last time until he looked into the center of the clearing and saw Naruto standing there just like last time. Kakashi sighed thinking, _"This seems all too familiar."_

He then decided that he would take on Naruto. He appeared next to the blonde shinobi and said, "I would hope you have a reason for this confidence Naruto." Suddenly two more appeared by the first and the three then started attacking him. They were alternating between kicks, punches and kunai throws. Kakashi was serious the whole time. He blocked, dodged, and countered as needed. The three Narutos worked very well together and he knew that if he didn't have his Sharingan eye active, even after his tough training he went though, he wouldn't have been able to escape with only minor bruises.

He was about to say he was impressed with his skills when two vanished and Sakura used their poofs of smoke to attack him. He managed to get out of the way only to see her fist make contact with the tree behind him and watched it shatter. _"Seems we have a new up and coming strongest Kunoichi."_ He thought as he blocked a hit from Naruto. Sakura came from above and Naruto broke contact and watched as she made a crater in the ground as she landed and the ground then exploded behind her.

Kakashi's jaw dropped as he said to no one in particular, "Never mind seems you are already almost on par with Tsunade-sama." Naruto wasted no time to charge him in a reckless fashion and Kakashi sent a punch that should have sent the boy flying only for the shadow clone to disperse. Kakashi's eyes widened and he made a quick escape.

"_Damn… Those were all three clones form Naruto? He knows how to use them better now and as a team of their own."_ He thought to himself. He then felt something coming his way and barely was able to dodge Sakura's leg as it went sailing just over his head splitting a couple of hairs. She then sent a follow up attack he couldn't avoid. He was just able to pull off a replacement jutsu.

Sakura gave a "Tch!" and immediately threw shuriken towards where he vanished too. Kakashi dodged them and then had to dodge again as he heard an all too familiar whirl of energy pass right by him and take a small piece of his flak jacket with it.

He quickly sent a kick to Naruto that made contact. Once again the Naruto simply vanished in a puff of smoke.

He retreated again away from his former students. He was very impressed with them. They showed they knew what to do mostly. They had been keeping him off balance the whole fight. He then quickly felt if the bells were still there or not. He sighed in relief when he felt them there on his belt.

He relaxed a bit thinking what to do next. He had noticed they too were regrouping probably coming up with a different plan. He was actually grateful they did. If they kept going like that he might tire faster and lose quickly due to the chakra taxing effects of his Sharingan.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto appeared silently by Sakura's side who on instinct almost hit him. He managed to catch her arm since he was ready for this reaction. She looked shocked for a second and then gave him a smile.

Naruto then whispered to her so quietly she almost didn't hear him. "Hey Sakura. Good job out there." She smiled softly but was going to be irritated if that was the only reason he approached her.

He then continued, "I have a plan Sakura. Think you can force him out of hiding and into the clearing? I will send some clones to help you as I get ready for my jutsu."

Sakura thought for a minute. She knew she could but the sun was getting low so she had to ask, "Yes I can Naruto. But we need to hurry up we don't have much time left. So will this work?"

Naruto grinned almost evilly as he said to her, "If not right away it will soon after." Sakura wasn't sure what he meant but waited for his go ahead.

Naruto sparred a few times with Alice during the latter part of their trip. He knew how fast she was. He also knew Kakashi was going at close to his top speed when dodging them. She was almost on par with him if not equal. Either way three against one would put things in their favor. He also thought this would be a good time to introduce her to his teammates.

Naruto understood what Tsunade said earlier. They weren't going to be Jonin-sensei and students once team seven was reestablished. They were going to be a full team that dealt with getting Sasuke back and the Akatsuki threat.

Naruto then closed his eyes and focused on sensing Kakashi. He found him. He turned to Sakura and signed her he was on the direct opposite side of the clearing from them. Sakura made her move as he made three clones to go with her.

{-} {-} {-}

Kakashi was ready for them to make a move. He then blocked Naruto's punch only for another to throw kunai and third to kick. He backed up only to then get clipped by Sakura. He felt the power of her fist and was lucky it only grazed him and nothing more. _"Damn it! Four on one now? They are good."_ He thought to himself as the assault continued.

Their fight continued and he didn't notice he was being led into the clearing. He also couldn't figure out which of the clones were the real one if any. They responded just like the real one did, no open attacks and everything was thought through. Adding Sakura into the mix made it rather easy for them to lead him to their targeted area.

Kakashi was hit by Sakura and he went flying into the clearing breathing hard. He dodged and blocked a few more attacks before Sakura broke off. The clones disappeared as he heard "Summoning no Jutsu!" Kakashi's eyes went wide as he thought, _"I said no summoning toads! What is he doing?!"_

He looked and saw the smoke was different from a normal summoning. It was light blue and there were butterflies circling it, even stranger it was completely silent. The strangest part though was what he saw once the smoke cleared…

{-} {-} {-}

Alice had to say that her new residence, while a bit run down, was affordable and she kind of liked it. In a way she found it quaint and knew once she got some furnishings and a little décor it would be as homey as any place she had been in for years. She turned to the landlord who was a pleasant fellow and said, "I like this place. It is wonderful!" She frowned and asked, "Do people really fear Naruto that much here?" He told her earlier that the price Hokage set up was actually better than he thought he could get for it. He told her how people didn't like Naruto his only tenant so he couldn't get other renters.

The middle aged landlord frowned as he said, "Unfortunately so… I know what happened to him and truthfully what they fear him as couldn't be any farther from the truth. Even my daughter knows better than most. We were unfortunate enough to lose my lovely wife during the attack. She was a Kunoichi for Konoha. We know he should be seen as a hero if anything. The other villagers shame the sacrifice our dead heroes and the fourth Hokage made that night with their actions. Anyways I am glad you like the place well enough Alice-chan. It will take a little time to get your water setup I'm afraid. I hope you don't mind."

Alice smiled at the owner and said politely, "No worries Landlord-san. I can wait before I shower."

The man smiled and said to her, "If you need to you can use the facilities by the entrance for anything else. Can't shower there I am afraid though. At least your water should be good by tomorrow morning."

Jiraiya then gave a grin and said to Alice, "Actually Alice. You can use Naruto's shower upstairs. Here you go." He handed her a key. "Tsunade-hime wanted me to give you a copy of his room key. I will be giving him a copy of your key as well for emergency use."

Alice could tell he wasn't going to peek on her or anything. He knew better than that now. She gave him a smile and said, "Jiraiya-san I will give him the extra key if you want. I am sure I will see him tonight once he gets done anyways."

The toad-sannin smiled and gave her the keys. He then bid her farewell and left with the owner.

Once they were gone Alice went upstairs to Naruto's apartment. The place was a bit dusty. "No doubt it hasn't been cleaned since before he left for his two and half year training trip." She said to herself. She decided she had time to dust real quickly. She was good at it after Houndsditch. She figured it would be a fair exchange for using his shower and one of his towels. It didn't take her long to clean the small but homey apartment up for Naruto. She soon went into his bathroom to use the shower.

She entered the bathroom and closed the door. She then 'exploded' her clothes and took off her underwear and placed them on the counter and stepped into the shower. She turned it to warm and enjoyed the soothing sensation of the warm water on her silky skin. She couldn't help but moan just a little bit in pleasure.

She was glad Jiraiya suggested she use Naruto's shower. She had heard about showers from the two and was very eager to try one. They had stayed outdoors while they traveled so she could only bathe in cold and crisp streams while on their trip. She was looking forward to a shower the whole time.

Bathing was unfortunately more luxury at times in the parts of London where she lived. She was given instructions on how to do so from Bumby. She thought it strange at the time, but now she knew it was part of her training. He wanted her to do it a particular way for when she started working for his clients. She was to be his special treat for his most prestigious clientele, for the right price of course. She sighed at the unpleasant memory, shook her head and continued bathing while she hummed a tune to herself.

She finished after a short while, and took one of his towels to towel herself off. It was actually a very fluffy towel and she kept drying herself off before placing her underwear on once again. She started drying her hair by squeezing the excess water out gently so she wouldn't ruin it. She was blissfully humming and pleasantly remembering her recent shower and decided later to try a good long soak. She had a beautiful smile on and felt refreshed. She didn't notice the tug from the summoning as she vanished in blue smoke and butterflies.

{-} {-} {-}

_"I said no summoning toads! What is he doing?!"_ Kakashi thought to himself.

Sakura was surprised as well and thought something along the same lines as Kakashi.

Naruto smirked as he thought to himself, _"I didn't summon any toads. I summoned Alice-chan!"_

Sakura was even more surprised when she noticed the blue smoke and butterflies. She thought it was rather pretty. Her eyes went wide as she noticed the smoke clear.

In front of her was a beautiful girl maybe two years older than her. The girl had a small frame, but she had more curve to her body than Sakura herself, but at the same time not too much. Sakura had to admit it was just the right amount to drive any guy wild she could tell. The pinkette also couldn't believe that she was in only her underwear. Her panties and bra were blue with a little bit of lace. The girl had an almond shaped face with soft lips and she had on a very pleasant smile. Sakura was confused what was going on here.

Naruto was shocked when the smoke cleared, and was overcome by Alice's wonderful intoxicating scent. It seemed even stronger than usual for some reason.

Alice continued to hum until she noticed something different with the air around her. She slowly opened her vivid emerald green eyes as the wind lightly blew her dark hair. She saw Naruto and a pink haired girl that she knew was Sakura. She then turned around to see she was in a clearing and saw to her shock Kakashi-san was there as well with two mismatched eyes. Naruto had told her about his Sharingan eye he got from a friend, as a final gift before the friend died. It was still quite the sight to see it.

Kakashi was completely caught off guard. Before him was the beautiful Alice-chan he had met earlier except she was in only her underwear. It was both modest and sexy. He noticed she had a towel of some kind. He also saw the setting sun behind her and the wind pick up a bit around her. The sight was truly in his mind breath taking. Even Icha Icha couldn't capture this image and do it justice.

Alice finally realized what happened and reacted. Her eyes turned fierce, which Kakashi thought made her even more beautiful. She frowned and before anyone else knew what happened she turned into a cloud of blue smoke and butterflies and closed the distance quickly between her and Kakashi.

Next thing Kakashi knew she disappeared and moved faster than his Sharingan could keep up. He soon heard a blade sing through the air and stop right by his neck. He saw the beautiful green eyes staring at him and noticed the wind blow her hair a bit and glanced down at her chest and saw droplets of water collecting on her milky skin. He then said, "Good job!" Before giving a thumbs up and passing out. He didn't even nose bleed. His senses were too enthused by this predicament that his perverted brain shut down before that could happen.

Alice then put away her blade and turned to Naruto. She walked up to him slowly while she said in barely contained fury, "Naruto?! If you are going to keep summoning me like this. Then we are going to have to really make some rules. This is twice now you have seen me like this."

Naruto gulped and stammered out, "S-s-sorry A-a-alice-chan! I didn't know you were going to be showering. I swear!" Alice stamped a foot on the ground and sighed.

Sakura's confusion was fading into anger. She started to twitch an eye and clenched a fist and swung at Naruto. Naruto easily dodged it. He wasn't feeling like taking a hit from her because of this situation. Sakura was thrown off balance and then got mad that he dared dodge what he deserved for being a pervert like always.

Before her fist got far a slender yet strong hand grabbed her wrist and a blade was dangerously close to her neck. As she heard Alice say in a dark voice, "You have no reason to lash out violently at Naruto." Sakura was startled when the girl let go and then turned to Naruto. Alice glared a bit at him and pouted in anger with her hands on her hips with her blade still in hand.

Naruto looked at her a little terrified and really sorry for what he had done and noticed Alice had his towel on her shoulders. He also glanced down following her necklace to see her normal Omega symbol medallion and her other necklace as well. It looked like an old key shaped in the symbol of Venus, which Alice told him about.

He dropped his guard and looked at Alice with sad eyes. He should have known better, she had told him a lot about her life beforehand and seeing the key reminded him that it wasn't that long ago she figured everything out about her past. Being seen in this state by others suddenly struck a chord and angered her. He then recalled how excited she was about trying a shower. He said sorrowfully, "I am sorry Alice. I should have known you would want to take a shower after you talked about it on our trip."

Alice's eyes softened and she wondered why he looked so sad suddenly. She then saw her sister's key and noticed she was still in just her underwear. She blushed a little bit and jumped back a bit. She dawned her blue dress and said to him, "It is alright Naruto. It is partly my fault I guess. I did decide to take a shower earlier than my usual bathing time. I don't mind you summoning me when you want. I just well… Try not to summon me at night in the future unless you need to have me help you out. I will try not to shower unless it is right after I wake up in the mornings or at night before I go to bed." She walked up a little closer to Naruto and gave him a smile hoping it would cheer him up and said, "That way it is a win-win situation. You can summon me when you want and I will less likely be caught in compromising positions. Sound good?"

Naruto couldn't stay down seeing Alice smile like that. He really loved her smile. He recovered and said, "Sure thing Alice-chan!" He gave her a big goofy grin and then went and grabbed the two bells from Kakashi and handed one to Sakura.

Sakura took it from him. Her anger was gone, now replaced by inquisitiveness. She wanted to know who this Alice was. What it was that just happened? Why it was the two seemed so close? There were also probably a million more things she wondered about but didn't want to ask yet.

Naruto then turned to Alice and asked, "Ummm Alice? What are you doing with my towel?"

Alice blushed again and handed the towel to him. "I am sorry Naruto-kun. The water was turned off for my apartment below yours, so Jiraiya gave me a spare key to your apartment and suggested I use your shower instead. He also gave me a spare key to my apartment for you to have for emergency use." She handed him the key.

Sakura blushed hearing that this girl had showered in Naruto's home and had a key to his place. She was surprised they knew each other that well apparently, and then she remembered Alice earlier say Naruto had seen her in her underwear before. Sakura blushed a little bit more. She was also a little bit jealous and slightly aroused thinking of possible reasons for Naruto to have seen Alice in her panties and bra. Sakura wished she was like that with a guy herself. Her thoughts started to go places she didn't want them to go right now. Sakura shook her head to stop her racing thoughts and sighed. "Naruto mind explaining what is going on here?"

Naruto nodded and replied to her, "Well I had planned to use this as a chance to tell you and Kakashi a few things. I hadn't planned on it going the way it has so far, though."

Alice blushed, embarrassed they saw her in such a manner. "We might as well wake Kakashi-san at least then. I only hope he won't get any ideas… If he does I won't be against using the Knightmare on him once to get the point across." She said.

Naruto winced at this and Sakura wondered what this Knightmare was. She nodded to them and bent down by Kakashi. She then said, "I will wake him up. I am a combat medic after all." Her hands glowed green as she safely brought Kakashi out of unconsciousness.

{-} {-} {-}

Kakashi woke up from a wonderful dream still in the clearing. He had to shake his head to clear his mind. He then saw Naruto, Sakura and Alice standing around him. He looked at Alice for a minute and would have thought of something perverted but remembered how she held his life in her hands. Even Obito's gift couldn't keep up with her movement, which was scary and not at all normal. He then remembered her blade singing through the air. He then realized that she may be very beautiful but she was also just as dangerous. This got her his respect as well as his attraction. He covered his Sharingan up again.

He then saw that Naruto and Sakura were both holding a bell. He sighed and said, "You know if it wasn't for how the rest of our match went I wouldn't have counted your capture of the bells. I said no Summoning. You broke the rules and this wasn't a rehash of the first bell test's lesson."

Naruto gave a mischievous smile and said, "Ahhh… But Sensei. You said no Summoning toads. Alice here is far from a toad as you can see."

Kakashi sighed, "Well I didn't think you would be able to summon something other than toads."

Alice gave a little laugh. "Count on Naruto to continue being the most surprising ninja in all of Konoha. Besides rules are more often than not guidelines Kakashi-san and you people are ninjas."

Sakura was surprised that this Alice girl knew Kakashi as well as Naruto. Sakura felt a little bit left out. She wondered who else knew of this Alice girl. Naruto was supposed to be her teammate, yet he seemed to still be hiding lots of secrets. She liked mysteries and all, but it still made her feel just the tiniest bit hurt.

Kakashi eye-smiled and said, "Oh? So then when you told me earlier not to read my books in public it was merely a guideline?"

Alice frowned and said sternly, "What I said earlier was that it was unbecoming of a man with your status to read such vulgar material in public. Perhaps I need to be blunter with my wording. A well-known and respectable man like you, Kakashi, shouldn't read porn in public especially in broad daylight. This is not a guideline it is a matter of being respectable as a ninja of high caliber. Behaving in such a manner, you shame not only yourself but Konoha as well."

Sakura had to admit she liked how this girl actually told him off for his bad habit without hesitation.

Kakashi gave a nervous laugh and then said, "Anyways Naruto. Good job on noticing the details of the rules. Also Sakura, Good job as well. You two worked well together and came up with an odd strategy, but an effective one nonetheless." He beamed at the two he named and then looked pointedly at Naruto and said, "Explain."

Naruto stood up next to Alice. He then said, "Sakura and Kakashi-sensei… This is Alice Liddell. If what Tsunade said earlier is correct then she is now a Kunoichi for Konoha, that Jiraiya and I met towards the end of our training trip. She isn't from around here and through complete accident, she is also a summon of mine." Alice then gave a polite curtsy to the two.

Sakura gasped and Kakashi's visible eye widened. Sakura had never heard of a human summon before. She didn't even know it was possible. Yet Naruto just said Alice was one. She didn't doubt him she saw him summon her. He joked around and pranked people but he wouldn't go this far for a prank, too much would have been involved.

Kakashi was just as surprised. Alice was a living human summon for Naruto. He had thought Naruto had done it by accident somehow. He had heard of human summons before but they were dead people brought back to life and forced to aide their summoner.

Alice then took a step forward, gave another curtsy and said, "Pleased to meet you both. Naruto has told me about you two during our trip. I hope we can put the embarrassing first impression behind us and start anew."

Sakura still wasn't sure what to make of all of this, but she bowed to the dark haired girl and greeted her in return. "I am Sakura Haruno, I am a combat medic and Chunin ranked ninja."

Kakashi bowed and said, "Nice to meet you again Alice."

Kakashi looked at the sky it was really late so he said, "Alright I think we should head back to the Hokage's office with my report. I think a further explanation is required Naruto. Tomorrow morning 8 am. And I don't plan on being late." Both Sakura and Naruto had their doubts about him being on time but they decided not to argue with him.

{-} {-} {-}

They made their way back to The Hokage's tower and entered Tsunade's office. The fifth Hokage looked up from her paperwork pile to see Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and Alice standing before her. She hadn't expected Alice to be with them. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is your report Kakashi?"

"I hadn't expected a girl to randomly appear in her underwear and put a knife to my neck, traveling at a speed that I had never seen before. I think it was a dirty trick and would have disqualified them." Kakashi looked at the others.

Naruto said simply, "You said no summoning toads. Alice is not a toad. I thought we had already cleared that up. She only acted that way because she knew you were a pervert and she doesn't tolerate perverted acts aimed towards her. Besides I didn't know she was taking a shower before I summoned her."

Alice then added, "Isn't a ninja supposed to be ready for anything anyways Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi gave a little chuckle and said, "Well true. He didn't break any rules. But truthfully if both he and Sakura hadn't shown they were both good ninja and still had the teamwork thing down I wouldn't have passed them despite getting the bells."

Tsunade then said, "So your assessment?"

Kakashi eye-smiled and grinned, "I say they pass. I would work with them as equals. I do wish I knew more about Alice's abilities, but she seems to be able to handle herself well enough."

Sakura and Naruto cheered aloud. Alice giggled glad that Naruto could be with most of his old team again.

Tsunade gave a half grin and proclaimed, "Good. As far as Alice's abilities go, even she doesn't know what all she is capable of doing. However I know she is strong and fast from what I have heard. I think they are ready to handle the threat that awaits them and make the necessary adjustments as needed while continuing the search for Sasuke."

Sakura was a bit surprised wondering about this threat and Tsunade noticed. Tsunade then said, "There are a few things I guess I should tell you about this group called Akatsuki…" She then told them all they needed to know about the group while keeping it quite that Naruto was also a Jinchuriki. That was for Naruto to tell Sakura not herself. She also didn't really give any details about Alice either. That was for the dark haired girl to share as she saw fit.

Sakura was taken aback by all of the information, but her resolve grew stronger. She would help Naruto and her team. She wouldn't let this Akatsuki group do anything to him if she could help it. She would also help bring her other teammate back as well.

Once Tsunade finished congratulating them on being team seven once again she dismissed them. Kakashi stayed behind she noticed. "What is it Kakashi?" She asked him. He thought for a moment and then said, "What is Alice's stance in the village now? I mean is she part of team seven or what?"

Tsunade thought for a minute and said, "I have decided that she will be sort of a ninja that we use to help others. She is strong and wishes to help Konoha and Naruto the best she can. She will be a 'ghost' member of Team 7 so to speak. She will help your team out a lot and receive mission pay, but she will help other teams as well. So I guess you can say she is a Genin that will be treated as a Chunin. Since she is a summon, you will later have another member join your team once one is found."

Kakashi was curious about this and voiced his thoughts, "Why not have her just join our team Hokage-sama? I don't think she will be too keen to leave Naruto alone."

Tsunade turned to him and said, "Two things. One I think she will help others get over their prejudice towards Naruto, if she is seen around him without being on his team. It has gotten better but is still an issue. She also notices things others don't and I think that will help me with some other issues I won't go into detail about. The second thing I think is despite how strong they have become both Naruto and Sakura will need the extra help. Having her as a 'summon' will allow her to go on missions without breaking our team dynamic. The council won't be able to separate them as easily that way. She is very good for Naruto from what I have been told and noticed in the brief time I spoke with her. Some of the old codgers still try to make his life as miserable as they can from behind the scenes. This way they can't complain if she goes on missions with him where they secretly are hoping he will die."

She sighed annoyed at the council and said, "They think killing him will kill the nine tails. The truth is they are right, but I don't see any reason to do such a thing. Naruto doesn't deserve to die and he isn't a threat. They are lucky he hasn't unleashed the fox on us for how they treated him. Honestly their trying to 'kill' the fox would only bring Naruto under his influence. He refuses to use the fox's chakra, but that doesn't mean the fox won't force him to use it to heal him or give him a boost out of self-preservation and Jiraiya says that is partly because of the seal to help keep Naruto alive."

Kakashi nodded and added his two cents, "Plus you like pissing off the council and ruining their plans."

Tsunade gave a smile and laughed a little, "Yes that too. I do think however he might be able to do what has never been done before. And end up saving us all. He can't do it alone, but he has Alice with him and others will follow. I put my trust and faith in Naruto when he brought me back here. I only hope others will too in time. If not they will end up regretting not doing so in some way."

Kakashi nodded and then gave her his farewell. As he left Tsunade thought to herself, _"I am waiting for you to become Hokage Naruto. I think Alice will help you there as will others."_ She looked out her office window and watched the last of twilight start to fade and she thought aloud, "Well All's done for today. Time for some Sake!" She then grinned as she headed out of her office and to one of her favorite bars.

* * *

A/N: End of chapter. Hope everyone enjoyed. Also I feel one thing to explain and hopefully will become noticeable in the story is that I am downgrading the Sharingan a little bit. Mostly because I feel Kishimoto is a little too obsessed with it and the Uchiha in general. I mean come on he has made them pretty much gods among men for no real reason except 'as plot demands'.


	7. Mission: Save Gaara! And the cat returns

Title: Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: Just so people know I won't be referring to Sakura as the green eyed girl or green eyed beauty in this story, to limit confusion.

* * *

Chapter 7: Mission: Save Gaara! And the cat returns!

A couple of days have passed since Naruto returned to Konoha with Alice and Jiraiya. Naruto had hoped to meet with some of his other friends, but for the most part they were all on missions. He was a bit sad, wanting to see them again, but he didn't let it get him down, after all he was with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei again. They had started training as a team again finding out ways to complement each other's moves and learn where they each stood now. Naruto also didn't let himself feel down because he had Alice with him as well.

He really wasn't sure just how much he had fallen for her nor how to best express it. The Beautiful green-eyed girl had an effect on him when she was around. He would feel more at peace, reassured and happy when she was around. He also felt urges toward her. He would catch himself sometimes looking her over wishing he could kiss her and go on dates with her and see her fully naked along with other things as well. He shook his head of these thoughts, not because their intentions were impure or anything, but because he knew it wasn't the time for such things and he didn't want to do something she would hate him for doing. She had been through a lot and that was before she found herself in a new world unable to return home all because of him.

He still felt guilty for that, even if it was an accident; he was still responsible for it happening. He sometimes feared Alice really only put up with it and was very angry about the whole thing deep down. He thought she just didn't take any of her anger out on him because he hadn't meant to do it in the first place.

She was like that. He knew she was forgiving if she knew there wasn't any harm meant on a person. However, if she knew there was only selfishness in one's actions and they meant to harm others in some fashion, she wouldn't hide her displeasure and she would deal with you as she saw fit. This even included using her knife. She didn't seem to like perverseness much especially.

Naruto knew she didn't like Jiraiya's book writing or his perverted actions, but she put up with it because she knew he needed to get funds for bribes and payoffs in some way that couldn't be linked easily back to Konoha. She also knew that brothels and such places were great for getting information about what was really going on in the world. He knew she saw Ero-sannin as an uncle and an important person, since he was partly responsible for how she had managed well in this new world.

Naruto next turned his thoughts to Sakura. He hadn't thought about Sakura in the same way he did before the trip. He was actually surprised how he had gotten over his crush on Sakura. He didn't 'give up' on her but had moved on after being around Alice and opening up to her. He realized what he felt when he was younger wasn't love nor really a crush. Naruto had simply kept asking her out because he thought that was the only way a boy and girl could see each other. He just wanted to have someone see him as something other than the 'demon brat' or 'dead last' and hopefully acknowledge him in some way. He also did like Sakura in some way as well.

He grew closer to her once they were teammates but even then he didn't understand his feelings all that well. He knew better now after having met Alice, what he felt about the Pink haired girl. He now knew he liked Sakura a lot but as a very important friend and teammate. The way he felt about Alice was much different, Naruto felt special around Alice.

He felt special because she had trusted him with pretty much all of her secrets from her past because she wanted him to know. She told Jiraiya most of everything, but only because she knew she would have to eventually anyways. She hadn't really even told Tsunade about her past. It was Jiraiya that did that with her permission of course. Which she gave him, since she wanted the Hokage to know everything she needed to know. However Naruto on the other hand she had told everything to. She had even admitted she felt completely exposed to him since they had gotten along so well over the training trip and he had accepted her in her full and damaged glory. They had something special with each other he knew this for sure.

He felt a very special connection with her, and not because she was technically his 'summon'. There wasn't a connection like that with the two at all. Usually with summons there is a kind of connection between summon and summoner. In Alice and his case there wasn't, there was something much stronger and deeper between them he could tell. More surprisingly he knew there was more to it they had yet to discover, a lot more to it.

Naruto was at the moment getting extra supplies like shuriken and kunai for throwing. He sort of wished he had Alice's awesome ability to just bring her cards out of no-where and she never seemed to run out of them. He was also thinking about maybe getting another weapon of some kind for close quarters combat or maybe some better quality Kunai meant to be used in close combat. Normal Kunai worked but they weren't the best and they were easily lost. He short of wished he had the Chunin Tanto but only Chunin got that.

Fortunately for Naruto as he shopped it seemed that the merchants weren't all trying to cheat him out of his money now. _"Maybe the villagers are starting to realize I want to protect them rather than destroy them."_ He thought to himself. He noticed some glares from some of the merchant stalls and sighed, _"Or maybe some of the merchants don't mind selling to me because it is still business."_

In the end, he managed to find everything he needed for decent prices. He was about to leave when he saw Alice talking to one of the Merchants he knew saw him as just another customer instead of the Demon brat. Alice turned to him and gave him a wave beckoning him over to her. He wasn't too sure at first because he feared that some of the others would start to hate her because she was friendly to him. He didn't want to disappoint her though, so he made his way over to her and immediately started to feel a bit happier.

Alice smiled as Naruto came up next to her and she eagerly said to him, "Look Naruto! This store has a variety of tea! They are named differently from what I was thinking but they are similar from what this kind man says. You will try some sometime right Naruto? I do hope you will. I plan on having a tea party every so often. It is most fun and a great way to get to know people." She was practically glowing with happiness it seemed. Naruto noticed that even the people glaring at him weren't glaring as much suddenly it seemed. He turned to her and said, "Alice-chan. I don't know anything about teas. I have only had herbal green tea and that wasn't my choice."

He looked at her and she seemed a little disappointed but she recovered. She then said, "Well then I will have to change that. Won't I? That green tea isn't very tasty. It is good for your body but not very delicious." She then made her selections and paid the merchant. She then turned to him and said, "Do you know of a good grocer here Naruto? I found one place but they didn't have many food stuffs to choose from."

Naruto gave a nervous laugh and said, "I usually just eat ramen Alice-chan."

Alice gave him a frown and said to him, "You aren't planning on going back to that habit are you?" He laughed again and scratched the back of his head. Alice gave a little frown and said, "Of course you were. I shouldn't have thought otherwise. You better start eating healthier Naruto. If you want to be Hokage and protect people you need to continue eating right now that we are back here. You are strong already but if you don't eat right you will limit how far you can grow. Which I bet even if limited is very far, but not as far as it could be."

Naruto gave a frown and said, "You do remember what Jiraiya and I told you about our cooking skills right?"

Alice thought for a minute before saying, "I do believe you cooked once or twice after I joined you two and it wasn't as bad as Jiraiya's. Not good but not that bad."

Naruto chuckled, "Well Ero-Sannin is a master at bad cooking. So I guess it was edible at least? I haven't really learned to cook properly. There wasn't anyone willing to teach me."

Alice looked saddened a bit. "I can't believe people would treat you that badly Naruto. I mean you aren't a danger to people around you. They should realize that by now."

Naruto frowned, "Neither are you Alice. And people treated you pretty badly."

Alice gave a bitter laugh, "I actually was. Don't forget I told you about the orderlies I attacked with a spoon, managed to actually give one a gash. I also attacked a nurse while she was bathing me. I know you were trying to be polite but I actually was dangerous to others. I still am but mostly just to my enemies. The truth is Naruto I deserved at one time to be feared and hated. You on the other hand don't deserve such a thing."

Naruto frowned and said to her, "Alice. You didn't deserve that. They mistreated you, did horrible things to you. You told me about those 'treatments and cures' they gave you. You're a wonderful person Alice so don't think you deserve such things."

Alice looked down and she actually felt a bit better hearing him say that. She was strong and she was over her madness mostly, but she still blamed herself for what happened in the past to some degree. She turned to Naruto and gave him a warm smile and said, "Thanks Naruto. For saying that."

He gave her a smile. "No need. It's only the truth Alice." She then continued walking and he decided he might as well follow for a bit at least.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice insisted on dragging him everywhere with her while she shopped for food and some other things that afternoon. Not that he minded at all really. He enjoyed her company. They returned to their apartment building after she had gotten everything she needed and saw some of the sights on the way back.

As they entered Alice smiled and waved at the Landlord and told him when she has her tea party he and his daughter would be invited. The landlord gave a hearty chuckle and said, "It would be an honor Alice-chan. Maybe my daughter will learn some manners as well. She is nice but rather rough around the edges."

Naruto smiled and said, "Awww. Come on it isn't that bad at least you know she can take care of herself. She is beautiful too. I am sure once someone worthy comes around they won't mind her manners."

The landlord sighed knowing that Naruto was partially right but commented, "Yah but if she doesn't at least know how to act like a lady she will have a hard time keeping him around. Besides she knows her mother was quite the lady when she wanted to be. She just didn't have a chance to learn from her. I can tell she wants to learn how to be a lady so she can be a bit closer to her mom if nothing else."

Alice gave a little laugh and said, "I am hardly the perfect example of a proper lady Mr. Teguchi-san."

The landlord just gave another laugh and said, "You are much more so than I am Alice-chan."

Naruto laughed and added, "He is right Alice. No one else has manners that even the Hyuga would respect."

Alice gave a little half frown and sighed exaggeratedly, "Fine I guess I have no choice in the matter. When she and I both have the time I can try to teach her manners but I don't think it will do much good."

Naruto gave a smile and thought to himself, _"I think you are wrong there you got Kakashi-sensei to put away his book with just a few words."_ He then sniggered a little bit remembering how Kakashi had tried to bring it out once after their test only for Alice to tell him off and he ashamedly placed it back in his jacket.

Alice looked at him and said sternly, "It isn't polite to laugh at others Naruto you know. At least share what you find so funny."

Naruto gave a chuckle and said, "I was just remembering how you got Kakashi-sensei to put his book back up when he tried to bring it out again is all Alice-chan."

Alice sighed, "That man is horrible with that book of his. Oh well I won't dwell on that for now. It is time I made some supper see you later." She then headed up stairs and Naruto soon followed before continuing to his room for the night.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice was up early the next morning cooking breakfast. She wanted to do a little bit of exploring around the village today since she wanted to learn her way around Konoha more. She was a bit surprised however when she heard a knock on her door.

"I wonder who that could be" Alice said to herself before raising her voice as she approached the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me Alice-chan. I sort of smelled your breakfast and couldn't help but wake up and ask for at least one last breakfast of yours since we are back now." Naruto said from the other side of the door.

Alice felt a bit happier hearing he wanted to join her for breakfast. She was thinking she would take a bit of a backseat now that he was home with his friends again. She opened the door smiling as she said to him, "It is quite alright Naruto. I would be happy to share breakfast with you even if we are in Konoha. I was actually scared you might not want to see me as much since you are back home. So I am pleasantly surprised."

Naruto frowned for a split second unnoticed by Alice. He was a bit saddened she thought he might ignore her just because they were back in Konoha. He entered her apartment and took a seat she pointed out to him as she went and finished making breakfast.

Alice turned and gave him a smile. "You know Naruto I think this is probably the first time I have ever had a guest over for breakfast. Well at least one I cooked myself. When I was very little I invited a couple of friends over for a breakfast my mother made, but only one time and that was on my birthday." Alice started to hum a tune to herself which Naruto found very soothing.

He then gave her a smile and said to her, "I'm surprised by that. I figured you would have had a lot of friends growing up from school or something. You talked about going to some tea parties before the fire a few times."

Alice gave a little giggle and responded, "Yah I went to a few. They were usually just something for the adults mostly. We children would enjoy the parties a little bit pretending to be all grown up and sophisticated. However most of the tea parties I went to were in my wonderland."

She then sighed a little bit and continued, "I didn't go to school with others. My father was a Dean of Oxford University. He felt that the education from the local schools was inferior to what he could get for us. He would get Lizzie and me tutors for lessons. Sometimes, when he could spare the free time during our education periods, he would give us lessons himself. He was right I found out, because even with my time at the asylum I discovered I was right on track with most adults in London, England. However being from such a privileged family and schooled from home limited my social growth a good bit."

She then seemed a little sad as she brought the food to the table and served Naruto, "Lizzie was there for me most of the time, but she was a good bit older than me so she couldn't really be much of a playmate. Even though she did take delight in playing with me. We were as close as could be for sisters even with our ten year age difference. She shared everything with me even though I didn't fully understand much of it at the time. I think she knew how I felt and since she was such a loving person she wanted to do all she could to make things more enjoyable for me."

Naruto frowned he wasn't sure what to say. He knew what it was like to be lonely but he didn't know what it was like to have lost a family you knew and loved. He then apologized to her. "Sorry Alice… I didn't mean to make you go through all of those memories again."

He knew how painful it was for Sasuke to be reminded of his past when they were teammates. He figured since she went through something similar to him she felt the same way. He thought it might be worse for Alice, because she had it worse than Sasuke did. He could tell that from knowing both of their stories. He still wondered why the two that had such a similar past were so different.

Alice Smiled brightly and looked into his eyes with her beautiful green ones and said, "No need to be sorry Naruto. It can be painful remembering the past but it is much better than forgetting it, as I have said many times before. I miss them a whole lot Naruto, I won't lie. However I would never forget that part of my life for anything. I think it is affecting me more because I don't know many people here yet and I just recently remembered everything from my past."

Naruto felt relieved and said, "I'm sorry Alice. It is just that I am used to how Sasuke reacted to things like that. He would get very pissed if he was reminded of the past. You two have such a similar past that I sort of thought you would react like he would."

Alice gave a disapproving look. She wasn't sure why Naruto cared about Sasuke so much. She had been told a lot about him and how he was. Frankly she didn't like the guy. She would kill him for what he did to Naruto all that time ago, if she didn't know Naruto would be angry at her for doing so. She voiced her thoughts to Naruto, "I am nothing like him. I don't attack and almost kill my friends just because I want more power. We may have a comparable past but we are very different. Really if I ever meet him I am knocking some sense into him and giving him a good talking to. I would kill him but I know you want him to come back. I only hope that if he ever sees the 'light'. He is damn well worth all of this trouble he has caused you Naruto."

Naruto winced he knew she was touchy about Sasuke but he didn't know it bothered her that much. He was relieved that she wouldn't kill Sasuke, if only because she liked himself as a friend. He felt like he should change the subject so he didn't ruin this wonderful breakfast with the beautiful girl. "I appreciate your feelings Alice and that you won't kill him without trying to reason with him. Anyways, what are you planning on doing today Alice-chan?"

Alice blushed a little bit at Naruto saying he appreciated her feelings. She then smiled and answered his question, "I was thinking about looking around Konoha again. You know to get a better idea of my new home's layout. What are you going to do Naruto?"

Naruto grinned broadly and enthusiastically said, "We get our first mission today as the reinstated team7! I can't wait! I hope we get something good! Isn't it great? I get to do missions again Alice-chan!"

Alice giggled at his enthusiasm. "I hope you do get a good one. I just hope that you will at least say goodbye if it is going to be something that takes a lot of time to complete." She would miss him greatly, but she knew he loved doing missions and needed to them not only to make himself a living but also because he needed the experience to become Hokage. She wouldn't like him being away but she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

Naruto kept grinning. "If it is I will say goodbye. Might even summon you every so often to talk some. Don't worry I will be careful to summon you during the appropriate times don't want a repeat of the bell test after all." He gave a nervous laugh at the end of his sentence. Alice just gave a laugh in response. Deep down she felt relieved.

They then talked a little bit more. Naruto told her about some of the cool spots he knew of in the village for her to look at while she explored. After a little bit longer he saw the time and noticed he was late, but remembered Kakashi was always late so he just bade Alice good day and went to meet with Sakura to wait for their sensei before starting their mission.

{-} {-} {-}

Sakura was upset Naruto was running late. She knew that their sensei would be late to his own wedding, if he were to ever get married that is. However Naruto was usually on time or early. She had wanted to talk to him about things since he came back as such a mystery and she saw him as a friend.

She had missed him a lot during his training trip, though she never openly admitted it. She was at least glad he had met with her and Kakashi, who actually was on time for once, and told them more about Alice after their bell test. He still didn't share everything but he had satisfied Kakashi and her with the information he gave them about Alice.

Sakura sighed again and continued to wait. Soon she heard a whoosh and Naruto was next to her. She was about to hit him for being late, but remembered what Alice said to her during the Bell test. The pinkette finally realized how horrible she had been towards him and also remembered how he easily dodged her attack. She now knew he had only put up with her bad behavior in the past because of his crush on her. She still wasn't going to let him off too easily though.

Sakura turned towards Naruto and said with obvious irritation, "Why are you late Naruto?! I can understand Kakashi-sensei but not you."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and blushed before saying, "Well I sort of had breakfast with Alice. We talked a bit while eating and then I noticed the time and came here. I wasn't too concerned knowing Sensei won't be here until a couple of hours from now anyways, so I didn't rush."

Sakura was actually a bit surprised by his answer. Before it fully sunk in she asked, "Where did you two go? I mean there aren't any breakfast places open yet."

Naruto grinned more. "We didn't go anywhere. Alice-chan had a home cooked breakfast. I asked to join her because I could smell the delicious smells all the way in my apartment."

Sakura was once again a bit jealous of the two. One of her dreams was to cook breakfast for a guy. Not because she thought it was a girl's place but because she thought it was a romantic gesture. She however didn't let it get the best of her and just said, "I hope this doesn't become a habit Naruto."

Naruto frowned and said, "What is wrong with having breakfast with someone?"

Sakura tried to not get angry at him and replied, "I meant being late because of it Naruto…"

Naruto just said "Ohhh…" After that they managed to talk a lot while they continued to wait for their sensei.

{-} {-} {-}

This was not Kakashi's morning at all. He was once again running late, but it was because he had to do some paperwork involving the new teams for this year's graduating class. Tsunade wanted his opinion about the jonin-sensies and what teams they would be best suited to lead since he had actually worked close to this year's senseis on many missions. This kept him up late at night, but he still would have been on time if it wasn't for seeing old man Himura needing some serious aide.

Kakashi was a pervert and carefree but he was also a good person on the inside, and ready to help the villagers when he could. He had grown close to many of the older people through his years as a ninja and so he couldn't just leave them alone when they needed help. Unfortunately, this personality trait of his consequently gave him a reputation as a lazy Jonin despite actually being very much the opposite. He sighed as he approached his team readying himself for the words they would say.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto finally felt Kakashi's presence and said to the one-eyed man sarcastically, "Well I guess it is good to know that you haven't changed too much in two years." Sakura just shook her head.

Kakashi frowned waiting for more but to his shock it never came. He then looked up bewildered and stared as they started walking. Naruto called back to him, "Well come on sensei! Let's go get our mission!"

Kakashi just nodded and followed them, stunned he didn't get more of an insult than that. Sakura then turned to Naruto and said, "Naruto don't get upset with our first mission ok? I don't want Tsunade-sensei getting angry at us."

Naruto just grinned at her and said confidently, "Don't worry Sakura! I can take whatever baa-chan gives us!" Despite his tone Sakura wasn't reassured and neither would be Kakashi if he still wasn't trying to figure out how he had gotten off so easy for being late.

They made their way to the Hokage tower almost getting run over by a Kunoichi from the Konoha Cryptanalysis Squad running in a hurry. Kakashi had his wits about him again and figured it had something to do with the messenger Hawk he saw flying earlier from Suna. He had a bad feeling about this but didn't let it show.

They finally made their way up to Tsunade's office and were given their next mission. Naruto was not happy about this mission, they were to escort a caravan of civilians. He was mostly upset because it was only a C-Ranked mission. "This is just a lousy C-rank! Come on give us something better."

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched as she thought to herself, _"I told Shizune it would go like this."_ Tsunade kept her Hokage mask mostly on and said, "You have been out of action for a while now Naruto we can't just give you big missions you know. You're lucky I am not giving you a Tora mission again. I have one here it just came in a few minutes ago." She waved the mission request in front of her threateningly. She didn't think it would work but was surprised with Naruto. Naruto sighed and bowed his head. "I suppose you're right. I can't really blame you."

Tsunade was about to dismiss them to start their mission when the doors burst open and the Kunoichi from earlier ran in waving a message and shouting ,"Hokage-sama! Important message from Suna! You need to read it now."

Tsunade read it almost not believing it. "Damn Akatsuki! They Attacked and captured the Kazekage!" Everyone in the room gasped and Naruto exclaimed, "Gaara!"

Tsunade thought quickly. They didn't have time to get a better group together she then said, "Naruto! Summon Alice!"

Naruto nodded and then shouted, "Alice no Jutsu!" Both Kakashi and Sakura noticed and were a bit surprised he didn't just say 'Summoning no Jutsu' like he did during the bell test.

As soon as the smoke cleared they were all thrown for a bit of a surprise at what they saw.

Alice was there sitting on the ground wearing a different dress than usual humming a tune and petting a very contented cat resting in her lap. The cat was none other than the infamous Tora. Alice looked up to see everyone looking at her with their mouths agape. She then asked, "What is wrong? Is it my dress? I thought the silk maiden would be more fitting to wear around town. It isn't too much is it?" She then stood up holding Tora to her chest.

Sakura wasn't sure what to think. She had never seen Tora looking so innocent and happy. She also had to admit Alice's dress was very pretty. It was similar to a dark blue silk Kimono with a white apron and a Chinese style blue boarder with some strange symbols on it. The kimono had an amazing floral and butterfly pattern on it. The dress had an obi tied in a beautiful bow with an Oni mask in the center. Sakura knew that if it was time for a festival Alice's dress would be the envy of all the girls.

Tsunade was the first to break the silence and said, "Congratulations Alice that is probably the fastest anyone as ever captured the escaped cat and you have completed your first mission." She signed for two ANBU to secure the S-classed escape artist.

Alice frowned as the cat was taken from her and said, "She really is a lovely cat. She was a bit skittish at first but once I got her to start playing she eventually tired out and then let me pet her. I doubt she is worthy of being a ninja mission. Anyways I was summoned for something?"

The others then snapped out of their bewilderment and Tsunade then said, "I have an important mission for you and Team seven, Alice." Alice listened intently. Shizune then said aloud, "Wait! You can't mean what I think you mean Tsunade-sama?!"

Tsunade turned to her niece and apprentice and said, "We don't have a choice. They want someone to deal with Akatsuki. Kakashi has fought them before…"

Shizune interrupted her and so did Iruka-sensei and they both said, "But still! You can't just send them."

Tsunade glared at them and they both bowed in apology and backed off to let her finish. "Also Naruto and Alice have encountered and forced Akatsuki's master spy Zetsu to retreat. They have the most experience with this group."

Everyone looked at the two in awe and didn't reject her idea anymore. Tsunade then said, "Team Seven, Alice. You four have your first S-ranked mission! Save Gaara the Kazekage!"

They all nodded and Kakashi ordered them, "Alright I want you to all go get supplies ready quickly we need to move fast. Meet me at the gates in 45 min." With that they all left quickly.

Iruka suddenly said to the others, "Wait a minute! Did Naruto just summon the new girl?!" He had heard about the new girl. He didn't know much about her though. He knew Jiraiya and Naruto met her on their training trip and she followed them to Konoha to become a Kunoichi. He also knew she had passed her interrogation and told Kakashi off for reading his books in public. He knew the last part because he was in on the pool claiming that a woman would tell him off some day for it. The bet paid him enough for two months of ramen by Naruto's standard.

Tsunade rubbed her forehead and said to the Chunin. "Yes Iruka. He did just summon her. No one is to talk about that with anyone else. Understood?" Iruka and the others just nodded.

{-} {-} {-}

Kakashi was waiting by the gate he fortunately just repacked his emergency mission kit last night so he didn't have to really pack anything. He was soon joined by Naruto and Alice followed shortly by Sakura. Alice didn't really have anything with her he noticed and she had changed into her blue dress. "Hey you three. Seems you all are packed and ready. Well except for you Alice, where is your stuff?" Kakashi asked.

Alice just shrugged and said "I don't require much that can't be found on our trip from the land." Kakashi just shrugged and said, "Suit yourself."

"We should just get going already Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said impatiently. Kakashi nodded though he didn't like his tone and they left with Naruto taking the lead.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto had set a grueling pace for them. Even Kakashi felt it was a bit too fast and noticed that Sakura was having trouble keeping up. "When did Naruto get so fast Kakashi? I mean I am not out of shape or anything but this is tough." Sakura said quietly to the one-eyed man.

Kakashi noticed to his surprise Alice was keeping pace with Naruto without any problems. He couldn't help but wonder how strong she really was or how she had gotten so in the first place. He then answered Sakura, "Well he has been traveling almost non-stop for two years with Jiraiya. I think however he doesn't realize how much he has improved in that time."

Sakura kept going before saying, "I wonder how it is Alice can keep up with him though."

Kakashi simply said, "No clue there Sakura."

They kept going, Naruto not really noticing how his pace was affecting the others. Alice did though and said to him, "Naruto?"

"Yes Alice?" he didn't even bother to look at her. He was focused on getting to Suna as fast as he could.

"I think we need to take a break and then continue at a little slower pace." Alice said to him.

Naruto looked at her with some irritation. "Why?! You are keeping up just fine. Gaara needs our help as fast as we can get there!"

Alice looked at him evenly and said, "I am talking about our companions." She then motioned towards them. Naruto looked and could see that Sakura was lagging just a little bit and Kakashi had signed for him to take a rest. He sighed and then jumped down to the ground and waited for the others.

Kakashi landed besides him and Sakura landed on the ground a little bit tired. Kakashi then said, "It is time for some Lunch. We all need a little break anyways. We have made some insane time already."

Sakura collapsed on to the floor after hearing Kakashi. She had never run so fast for so long before. She started having her lunch and some water.

Naruto stood a bit off form the others with his arms folded leaning against a tree. He hated this. Gaara, his fellow jinchuriki, needed their help and they were having Lunch?! He heard his stomach growl a little bit and so pulled out a meal bar from his pack and got some water.

Alice went a little bit into the woods since she saw a familiar grin from the brush nearby. Naruto called at her, "Where are you going Alice?"

"I have to take care of something. I won't be long." She called back. Naruto nodded knowing she wouldn't go far from them and worse case he could just summon her.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice found herself in a small clearing not far from the others and said, "So you finally decided to check up on me cat?"

The area she was looking at shimmered and the cat appeared before her grinning like always, "Yes Dear Alice I have. I told you I would return once I had taken care of some things. How are you doing? May I ask?"

Alice gave a little smirk and quipped, "It seems you just did cat." Cheshire chuckled in his throat and said, "Witty as ever Alice."

Alice smiled and answered his question, "Well we are taking a break for lunch on our way to go help Naruto's friend with the Akatsuki. I am also now a Genin Kunoichi for Konoha. Tsunade said it might cause problems if I was a different rank from Naruto. I went through a rather pleasant interrogation to prove I wished Konoha no harm. So are you finally going to tell me what you have been up to this entire time cat?"

Cheshire grinned and said in his smooth voice, "I told you I would in time, once the time was right didn't I?"

Alice gave a smirk that would have made Sasuke jealous and said, "Well I figured it was said time since you decided to make an appearance again."

Cheshire gave another laugh. "Well that is rather presumptuous of you Alice. You better not make it a habit of making assumptions or it will bite you with razor sharp teeth. However, this time you are correct young lady." Cheshire then raised his paw in the air and something appeared in it that he then tossed towards Alice who caught it.

Alice looked at the thing curiously, opened it, read it and asked, "What is this Cheshire?"

Cheshire said rather arrogantly, "Me once again proving that I can indeed be useful Dear Alice. That right there is the culmination of my hard work while I was absent from your presence. I made up a summoning contract." His grin got even wider somehow.

Alice was shocked. She read it over again and it finally registered to her that it was indeed a contract. "What kind of a summoning contract is it? Is it for me to sign?"

Cheshire nodded and said, "It is a Wonderland Summoning Contract. It is for you to sign and only for you to sign. Though I suppose if you ever have children in this world and they are as imaginative and special like you they too can sign it. After all only someone mad could make her own world in her head that she could actually visit like you did."

Alice frowned a little bit and said, "I am not mad cat. Besides I don't really want to be among mad people like I was before."

Cheshire rolled his eyes and said, "My dear Alice you are still mad. You just have control over your madness now unlike before. Someone can't go through all you have and not be damaged in some fashion. No one ever truly gets over madness. They either refused to believe it ever existed, forget it was part of them, or they just hide it really well. You however, Alice Liddell, conquered your madness and then embraced it as part of who you are. That is why it does not bother you anymore. Not because you were really cured by those so called 'doctors'. Also if you haven't noticed the people in this world are all insane in their own way. What kind man reads porn so brazenly in public? What kind of man would openly introduce himself as a super pervert to a lady after first meeting her? Would a normal 'sane' person be obsessed with ramen like Naruto is?"

Alice glared at him and said, "There is nothing wrong with Naruto! And those others aren't bad people either!"

Cheshire stared at her and continued, "I didn't say there was anything wrong with them. I just was pointing out that they aren't what people would perceive as 'normal'. Thus they are all 'mad' here. Though not as much as you are. Anyways I didn't mean to offend you. I was just stating originally that your madness is a part of you, but not something bad."

Alice sighed, she should have let him finish but what he said about Naruto set her off. "I am sorry Cheshire. I don't know what came over me. Anyways about the contract?"

Cheshire gave a little smile. "I suppose I should have chosen some better words. I meant to say, before I went on that tangent, that few others if any could have done what you have done. No one else outside of maybe your own family, if you have one of your own, could handle the Wonderland contract. I am the boss summon since I interact with you the most and made the contract in the first place. Do not worry I have and will continue to train and hone my own set of skills to be worthy of the position." Cheshire took a little pause for a second on two.

"All of the inhabitants of your wonderland that are still alive can be summoned to your aide. I think you will find them mostly, to be useful when you summon them. They will still have their own quirks in Wonderland and a bit here as well. However they will be focused and ready to help you. When you have the time you should summon each of them in turn to see what they can do or at the least visit them in Wonderland. I am sure they would like that. Even the Queen of Hearts is less eager to behead people now who aren't foes. Which you aren't, since you have remembered who she is. She wishes to see you for tea sometime by the way." The cat finished explaining.

"I haven't tried to visit there yet. I haven't really had the time with moving to Konoha and all. I also didn't want to risk it when we were traveling in case something happened. I will try to visit once this mission is over. So if I recollect correctly I have to prove I am worthy through a test. What is the test you thought of?"

Cheshire gave his signature grin once more, "I have decided that since you saved Wonderland twice you are more than worthy. Even though you were the reason Wonderland needed saving both of those times. It also doesn't hurt that you were the one that created it in the first place. Naruto however can't summon Wonderland's residents, despite being able to summon you. That whole situation is something that I couldn't find anything about during my travels by the way. He can't really have multiple high level summoning contracts. The toads wouldn't allow such a thing, it is considered improper, and the Wonderland summons are considered high level by this world's standards."

Alice sat there with a thoughtful expression and said, "It doesn't really matter. If he needs help from Wonderland then he just has to have me by his side. So what do I have to do then if I have already passed my test?"

Cheshire's grin turned a little devious as he said in a lower voice, "You have to sign the contract on the first blank in your blood, and then place a bloody hand print by your name." He then chuckled darkly.

Alice didn't even let his tone bother her as she summoned her knife and slit the palm of her left hand. She then signed her first and last name before placing a bloody hand print next to it. She then dawned her rabbit dress to heal up the wound it didn't long.

Cheshire's grin faltered a little bit, "Are you sure you should have so quickly signed it Alice? You didn't want to see if maybe I was lying or there was a darker purpose to signing in blood?"

Alice just pursed her lips and said, "Oh shut it cat. I knew you only changed you tone and grin purely for effect. You said I could summon any of the citizens of Wonderland right, as long as they are alive?"

Cheshire nodded, "Yes. You just have to use the right hand signs and envision who you want to summon. Ask Naruto to show you the hand signs for summoning. They are the same since you have to sign a contract to summon, so there isn't any reason to change them."

Alice nodded and then asked, "So are you going to follow me now or are you going back to Wonderland?"

Cheshire thought for a bit and answered, "I think it would be best if I went to Wonderland for now. I need to rest up after all my journey and it probably wouldn't be wise for me to meet the rest of Team 7 when you are all on an important mission. Besides I think it is time you rejoin them. So long Alice, remember summon me if you need me. Just so you know I can also travel between here and there when I wish to do so. Don't worry if I am here in this world and you require my assistance you can still call on me and I will appear."

"So long Cheshire. See you next time." said Alice. With that the cat vanished in blue smoke, Alice changed back to her blue dress and went back to the others.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto still didn't like how they were still resting and having lunch while Gaara needed their help. He just stood there having finished his meal bar quickly, barely containing his anger. They had been there for 20 minutes already. He noticed Kakashi and Sakura were finally finishing up at least. He wondered where Alice went off to though and how long until she came back.

Alice stepped out from the brush and walked up to them very quietly, so quietly that it actually put the others on edge a bit. Ninja weren't usually that quite naturally or without reason. She smiled and apologized, "Sorry it took a bit longer than I thought it would."

Naruto then summoned her quickly just to be sure she was who she was. Sure enough she disappeared and then reappeared right in front of him. She frowned and said, "Was that really necessary Naruto?"

He just said, "Yes it was. You were gone for a good while. I had to make sure it was you and not some impostor."

Alice then said, "This is not the Chunin exams and I would have told you if there were enemies following us." Naruto realized she was right. Her sensing abilities were off the chart.

Kakashi then stood and said, "Looks like we are ready to go. Alice did you get something to eat?"

Alice shook her head and he tossed her a meal bar form his pack and told her, "That should hold you over until we have supper and you can eat it as we move. Let's head out Naruto. Try not to go too fast this time."

Naruto growled a little bit and took off just a tiny bit slower than before with Alice right behind him. Kakashi sighed and took off after him.

Sakura frowned and moved out not liking this insane pace. It usually took two days to get to the Wind country and Fire country border. If they actually stopped at a reasonable hour for the night they would get there late tomorrow morning by her calculations. They just left Konoha earlier this morning; the pace was too fast she thought.

She was a little proud that she was keeping up as well as she was. If she was with a group of Chunin from Konoha she would be way ahead of them if she kept to this pace. Naruto though always had way too much stamina and was always speedy. Kakashi was a jonin and ex-ANBU so he was also really fast. She didn't like how Alice, the new comer, was showing her up in the speed department though. She didn't have anything against the young woman it was just annoying to be so weak in comparison to the others it seemed.

They continued their race to Suna with Naruto in the lead, Alice right behind him, Kakashi in the middle just in front of Sakura, bringing up the rear.

* * *

A/N: End of Chapter. Also don't worry people while the wonderland summons will prove powerful I won't make them extremely over the top powerful. As said by Cheshire they are considered close to equal to the toads and summons of that level. There will be a couple of obviously powerful summons but its usefulness well be more in the variety of summons and abilities rather than their overall power in general.


	8. Destination Suna

Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

I am not the owner of anything really. Wish I was but I am not.

* * *

Chapter 8: Destination Suna

It was getting to be late evening and they had made even faster time than they thought due to Naruto's absurd pace. The march was starting to really affect the group though. Even Alice needed to stop to rest at this point. Naruto needed to rest as well but he was so focused on saving Gaara that he didn't realize how tired he actually was. The only reason he wasn't falling over completely exhausted was due to Kyuubi's healing abilities.

Kakashi spoke up firmly and said to Naruto. "We should make camp here for the night Naruto." Kakashi was still mostly fine but the others weren't and he knew if they kept going much longer even he would need to rest badly.

Naruto growled a little but turned to answer, "If we stop now we won't be able to make it to Suna before it is too late!"

Alice was getting a little edgy from all of the running and said, "And do what exactly Naruto?! Collapse from exhaustion at the gates? That will definitely help them." She had an angry look on her face.

Naruto turned and was about to say he was just fine when Kakashi spoke first.

"Naruto the only reason why you aren't about to fall over from exhaustion now is because of your special circumstance. Look at yourself." He pointed to a puddle of water nearby on the forest floor form a recent storm.

Naruto looked and gasped as he noticed his eyes were silted red and his whisker marks were thicker than usual. He sighed and calmed down. "I guess you two are both right. Sorry I was just in a hurry to help Gaara as soon as possible."

Alice sighed as she said, "It is understandable but we need to arrive in the best condition we can or we won't help at all."

Sakura who only paid some attention to their talk panted out, "Yah, if someone was wounded and needed my immediate aide I wouldn't be able to do anything. I am no slouch but your pace is insane! We will be reaching the border tomorrow early to mid-morning. Usually with a squad of top notch Jonin this leg of the journey takes at best a day and a half. We will be doing it in a day." The pink haired girl then collapsed to the ground exhausted.

Kakashi then commanded, "Alight now that we settled that matter. Naruto go gather fire wood. Sakura you rest up you will have first watch tonight so you have more time to recover before morning. Seems those long shifts at the hospital are finally taking a small toll on you." Sakura just continued sitting there on the ground. Kakashi then turned to Alice and asked, "What did you do when you were traveling with Naruto and Jiraiya?"

Naruto was the one that answered, "She would cook and gather the herbs she needed while we got the dinner food. She also took early morning watch."

Kakashi then thought for a bit while Alice answered a little angered that Naruto answered for her like that. "I also helped make camp and gather firewood or whatever I could to help out."

Naruto grimaced knowing he might have offended her. He apologized, "Sorry Alice. I was just hoping you could cook again so I was emphasizing it."

Alice felt a little less angry hearing that. She was happy in a way that Naruto liked her cooking that much. She replied, "Apology accepted Naruto."

Kakashi didn't see any harm in her cooking if she didn't mind. He kind of wanted to taste it. "Sounds good to me. I'll get us fish. Can you get the seasonings you need here?"

Alice looked around with her finger resting on lips in thought. Kakashi smiled, he found it very cute. Naruto also thought it cute and noticed Kakashi-sensei looking Alice up and down. The blonde shinobi wasn't happy about this, but did nothing for now. They were on a mission after all.

Alice then spoke up, "I should be able to find them or something that will work. I wonder if I can find any good mushrooms as well." Alice then started going off to look for what she needed.

Kakashi gave a little chuckle and said, "I guess she is set on cooking for sure. I better get some good fish to impress her." He then giggled a little perversely as he thought of some of his favorite scenes in the Icha Icha series. There were plenty where a shinobi impressed a beautiful girl with his ability to get good game for a meal they shared while on the move. Naruto didn't like this one bit at all. He knew Alice would have none of it and could take care of matters herself but he didn't like where he knew Kakashi's thoughts went.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice returned shortly with the ingredients she needed for supper and started making preparations by the fire Naruto had started. She smiled to herself and hummed a little tune happily as she got things ready.

Naruto looked up and asked her, "What's got you in such a good mood Alice-chan?"

Alice just smiled and replied happily, "I found some good mushrooms that will go perfect with the dish. I know they won't make anyone sick so no harm in adding them."

Kakashi then came back from the river with two large baskets full of fish grinning foolishly thinking he would impress Alice with his feat of skill and strength. "Got the fish! Lots of them as well!" Alice looked up and gave him a disappointed frown. She shook her head and said, "Really Kakashi-san did you forget we are on a mission of great importance? What on Earth gave you the idea we would be able to eat all of those fish? One basket would have been plenty more than enough."

Naruto burst out laughing along with Sakura who was rested up and ready for supper. Naruto was glad or maybe relieved that Kakashi's first attempt failed at least. Sakura was happy to see Alice put Kakashi in his place again with little effort. Kakashi sniffed and held back tears as he placed the baskets down near Alice and went to sit in a dark corner.

Alice sighed as she said, "Well we should be able to preserve the extras for the rest of the trip. Still you did go a little overboard." Kakashi brightened a little and joined the others.

Kakashi and Sakura offered to help prep the fish but Alice told them not to worry and Naruto grinned a little. Sakura looked to Naruto and asked him, "Why are you grinning it could take her forever to prepare the fish alone for all of us." Naruto chuckled and said, "Just watch Sakura."

Sakura did so and was amazed to see Alice use her knife to make quick work of the fish. She suddenly got a bit excited; she had only seen fish prepped this way in nice restaurants. The pinkette was even more amazed as she watched the green-eyed beauty start to cook up a storm. It seemed Alice still had her speed even with regular everyday matters.

In no time at all Alice had finished cooking their meal and served each of them. They each had a good portion of fish to make up for the lost energy and vegetables on the side with Mushrooms topping the vegetables. Sakura was really impressed with the display and was about to eat when she heard someone shout.

"Amazing! This is the best meal I have ever had on the go or even most of the time! And the prep speed was hard for even my eye to see!" Kakashi shouted with pure ecstasy. Alice blushed at his praise's enthusiasm.

Sakura took a bite after hearing that. She almost cried tears of joy. She hadn't had the time to get a decent meal in several weeks due to her work and training. She soon added her own praises. "This is delicious! You know if you weren't a Kunoichi you could have opened a very successful restaurant. All of the important people would become regulars after two or three meals there!" The dark haired girl blushed a little more.

Sakura continued eating; even the veggies were wonderful including the mushrooms. She had never been a big fan of them herself but the way Alice prepped them tasted wonderful. Sakura thought it was a pity Naruto didn't eat such things as veggies. Her eyes lit up as she thought she could ask to have his since he never liked them.

Sakura then looked up and her jaw fell open in shock. Kakashi also had his jaw open. The two stared as Naruto happily ate his vegetables. Once he finished, he looked to Alice and told her, "Great as always Alice. I'll tell you again if you learned to make ramen I might never go to Ichiraku's again!" Alice smiled more and said, "Thank you Naruto-kun. I am glad you like the food. Thank you as well Sakura-san and Kakashi-san. I am pleased you three are enjoying the meal."

Sakura was once again reminded of how close the two were and how Alice seemed too really do the impossible. She only hoped Tsunade didn't find out Naruto ate vegetables now. She would owe the Hokage a night on the town which was always expensive. They had placed a bet and if Sakura would have won, Tsunade would let her sign the slug contract and taken her to the restaurant of her choice for supper along with two days off form Hospital duty. Sakura knew she would get to sign the slug contract someday, but she was eager to sign it sooner rather than later. Also she had known of the perfect restaurant to have Tsunade-sensei take her for supper. Lastly, any time off from Hospital duty was welcomed.

After setting up guard duty they all called it a night. Naruto however didn't really sleep well despite knowing what Alice told him before was true. He still felt they couldn't get there fast enough to help Gaara. When it came time for Alice to start her shift he was still awake. He still woke her up but he didn't retire to rest for a few more hours despite his shift ending. He could handle sleepless nights they weren't entirely a foreign concept to him.

Alice was however a bit concerned. She knew he needed sleep. She gave a feeble attempt by saying, "You know you should get a little more sleep Naruto. Sleepless nights aren't fun."

He just frowned and said, "I know what I can handle Alice. What do you know of sleepless nights? I have had them before. A lot when I was younger." He knew he had said something he shouldn't have but he was edgy and didn't apologize.

Alice frowned she wanted to say something in rebuttal but knew it wouldn't reach his ears. After a bit of silence she decided to break it. "Hey Naruto?" She asked him casually hoping he would realize she wasn't going to pursue the topic.

He knew what she was doing and was a bit thankful so he replied, "Yes Alice?"

She sighed in relief. She really didn't want things to go sour with Naruto. "Can you tell me how to summon? I am curious about how it is supposed to work normally. Like when you summon the toads." She didn't want to tell him about the wonderland contract yet. She wished to use that at a proper time and surprise him when she learned how to do it.

Naruto, glad for a little early morning talk to help his mind ease a little bit answered her, "Well you have to sign a contract with a summon group to do so. This being the case the signs for summoning are the same. You sign the contract with your blood and then practice. Once you can summon the boss summon or in some cases they pay you a visit their self, you have to pass a test of some sort to prove you are a worthy summoner. I had to stay on top of Gamabunta's head for a whole day to show him I was the one who summoned him and he had better get used to it. He is the boss toad summon. He is huge like the size of several large buildings. I was completely out of it once the sun set but I had proved myself to him and he has been good to me since." Naruto couldn't help but grin a bit. The Toad was tough and talked tough but he also was protective of his precious people.

Alice didn't think she would have any summons that big. She also knew she had yet to see how they might have changed like the cat said though. She then asked more questions, "What are the hand signs for summoning? Also how do you know how much energy to use or how to summon a certain one? Is it some kind of luck of the draw? Because I don't see how that would be useful if you had to just hope for a useful toad or whatever you plan to summon."

Naruto felt a small hint of a smile tug on his lips. He felt a bit refreshed answering Alice's questions. He explained to her about focusing on what you wanted to summon or on a particular summon if you knew them. He also went into detail about how he discovered each summon including herself had a different feel to them. He then showed her the hand signs for the jutsu. When he finished he asked if Alice understood it all.

Alice thought for a minute and then asked him, "You said each summon including me has a different feel to them. What do I feel like Naruto?"

Naruto blushed at the question remembering when he first figured that out on their trip and also thought about literally feeling her. He said, "You feel unlike any other summon and more complex. The best I can describe it as is… Serene and warm with just a hint of darkness. The darkness isn't terrifying or anything though. Usually summons have a simpler feeling to them." He looked away a little embarrassed at how he really enjoyed the feeling of her summoning.

Alice blushed to his answer. She wouldn't say it out loud but she felt happy he paid such attention to how her summoning felt. She wasn't the best with romance and that stuff but she thought the way he described it sounded a bit romantic.

She didn't want him to think he said something he shouldn't have so she said to him, "Thanks Naruto, for answering my questions."

After some more talk the sun started to rise and Alice went about making a good but light breakfast for them since she knew they would be going hard again today from how Naruto had been yesterday. When it was almost complete Naruto decided to go ahead and wake up Kakashi and Sakura.

Kakashi was not happy to see the blonde shinobi waking him up because he knew it meant he hadn't slept after his shift. "Naruto why are you waking me up shouldn't you be asleep?" He asked his former student.

Naruto just looked at him and answered plainly, "I couldn't sleep. So I stayed awake as Alice did her watch." Kakashi took a little solace that the boy at least wasn't on edge the whole night keeping watch alone but not much. Naruto then went and woke Sakura up.

They sat down for a delicious light breakfast and afterwards broke camp and headed out. Just like Alice thought Naruto started off with the same pace they used last afternoon as they continued their journey to Suna.

{-} {-} {-}

Temari was not having a good time. Her journey back was pleasant enough at first and she took her time. After some time, she started receiving all kinds of bad omens. Her cup of tea spontaneously cracked, her sandal strap broke, and she crossed the path of a black cat among others. She wasn't usually superstitious but this was getting to her none the less.

At first she was a bit girly, which didn't happen often with her, as she thought maybe her slim chances with Shikamaru were slipping away and the omens were telling her this. She thought maybe that new girl had something to do with it. She noticed how he kept looking at her. As the omens kept coming though she started thinking that if they were to be believed something had to have happened in Suna. She figured this because even if nothing happened between her and Shikamaru it wouldn't be so bad to deserve this many omens. She had started to go a little faster as she was getting close to the Wind and Fire Border.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto was leading again with the others doing their best to keep up. They landed at the border between Fire and Wind lands. Naruto stopped so the others could catch up. Once they did Naruto spoke, "Kakashi-sensei? Do you know the best way from here? I haven't been to Suna much before. I knew which direction to take to get to the border though."

Kakashi landed and pulled out a map. It was a bit old but he hoped it would be good enough to plot out a course. "Here let me check this for a bit first and then we will have a way to go." Naruto frowned and for a brief second his eyes changed colors before turning back. He knew he couldn't do anything about it now. He cursed not having taken a trip while training to Suna and remembering how to get there.

Sakura was glad for a bit of a breather. Just like she had guessed, they reached the border about mid-morning. She was a bit amazed that they made the trip in such a short amount of time. Their pace was insane and not the best to take but they had made it none the less. She wished she could brag to someone like Lee or Gai for making this trip so fast. The two green clad ninjas still creeped her out but she didn't mind them so much now. They were friendly, maybe even too friendly, but they were still loyal Konoha ninja. Loyalty was something she started to care more about when it came to people.

Alice stood next to Sakura thinking what she should do about Naruto's behavior. She saw his eyes flash red and knew what that meant. She, despite knowing better, secretly wondered if Naruto would be this eager to come get her if something happened and he couldn't summon her for some reason. She shook her head. That was not something to think about at this time.

Naruto finally got frustrated and demanded he see the map. He felt that Kakashi was taking too long to do so. "Let me see that Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi kept looking at the map and said to him, "I don't think you would be able to understand this map well enough Naruto."

Naruto growled a little and looked over his shoulder. He stared and said, "How can you read anything on that map Kakashi? I mean there is hardly anything on it. How old is this map?"

Kakashi was a little affronted and said in defense, "Hey it may not be the most recent but it is reliable. Besides there is a reason for it showing little of anything. If an enemy got a hold of this map they wouldn't be able to understand it."

Naruto said with anger, "Well yah! It doesn't show any landmarks like rivers or roads or you know mountain ranges!"

Kakashi just kept looking at the piece of paper and said, "I know where all of those features are Naruto so no need to worry. Go stand over there you are in my light."

Naruto was about to shout at the one-eyed Jonin when Alice said, "Shhh… There is someone coming this way." The others immediately got on guard and Kakashi asked her where. She replied, "They are coming from behind us and to the west a bit. There is only one and they are coming fast this way."

Kakashi ordered them to get in position and to be ready to ambush. He wasn't sure if they were Akatsuki or not. Usually a ninja wouldn't be by their self though which sent up warning flags. He knew they couldn't be reinforcements because Tsunade would have sent a team not a single Ninja for this.

They waited a few seconds. They had been waiting longer than was usually the case in this circumstance making them wonder how good Alice's sensing abilities were.

Finally they heard the sound of sandals hitting the forest floor heading towards them quickly. It seemed odd this ninja wasn't trying to be quite. Then they saw blonde spiky hair in four pigtails and a metal fan. They relaxed and Naruto shouted before they appeared on the ground. "Temari-chan!"

Temari looked up to see Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura landing on the ground. She then noticed the girl in the blue dress standing in front of her before the others even landed. She was surprised to see them and worried. She asked, "What is going on here?"

Kakashi answered for the group. "The Kazekage was taken by the Akatsuki and they asked for immediate aide. We were told to help. We were just figuring out the best way to get to Suna from here. You wouldn't mind leading us would you? Since you know the Land of Wind better than we do."

Temari looked even more worried now and she frowned. Her little brother was attacked by those monsters. She knew something bad had happened but she didn't think it would be this bad. She recovered and said, "Sure I will lead. I hope we aren't too late to help." She then took off faster than she was travelling before but much to Sakura's relief, a tad bit slower than Naruto's pace. Sakura was glad that Temari was leading and understood that even if they got there sooner going faster, they would be completely exhausted and wouldn't be able to help. Naruto seemed to have forgotten what Alice told him yesterday on that matter.

They soon followed suit. As they were running Temari asked Kakashi, "No offense but even with short notice, why were you four selected? I mean I know you are strong but Alice? She is new right?"

Kakashi replied, "Well Sakura aside from Tsunade and Shizune is the best medic we have in Konoha. I have fought Akatsuki before so I have some experience with them. Alice and Naruto have also faced a member of Akatsuki before."

Temari couldn't help but feel impressed hearing this. "Well I guess that is something if they have already encountered members of the group before and survived to tell about it recently."

Kakashi smiled under his mask as he told her, "More than that. They actually forced one of them to retreat. I just survived my encounter because they got the information they wanted and left."

The sand Kunoichi was more impressed now. _"The new girl and Naruto have beaten back an Akatsuki member before. Seems like they are both stronger than I thought." _ She thought to herself. The Sand Kunoichi also secretly hoped that Alice wouldn't find interest in Shikamaru and hoped she was with or would be with Naruto instead. It would be tough but she hoped something happened between herself and Shikamaru, but she didn't want to have to get into some serious girl fight over the lazy shadow user.

She tore herself from her thoughts as they continued going to Suna. She wasn't taking the fastest route they could take but it was fast enough. She knew that even with Gaara in danger she shouldn't let them see Suna's secret routes to their village even if they are allied nations.

{-} {-} {-}

They kept their pace into the late evening before making camp for the night. Naruto wasn't too happy to be stopping but knew without Temari they wouldn't get there any faster. He was barely keeping his cool. The others noticed he was a bit on edge but they weren't sure what to say to calm him down. He wasn't drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra so that was an obvious sign that he was mostly in control at least.

Temari said to them before calling it a night, "If we keep up this pace we should get there in a couple of more days. We won't be getting there any faster than this."

Naruto was sure there just had to be a better way but he didn't know anything about it. He was glad they only had two more days to go before Suna nonetheless. He just wished he knew a faster way to travel.

Sakura was surprised to hear Temari say how close they were. No one she knew of had made the trip to Suna in a total of 4 days. It usually took 6 or 7 days to get there.

Temari was on her own worrying more about her brother not really ready for sleep. She cursed herself for taking her time in the Land of Fire. Even though she knew there wasn't anything she could do about it. She was lost in her thoughts when she felt a soft hand touch her shoulder. She turned to see Alice looking at her sorrowfully as the green-eyed girl said, "I am sorry to hear that Suna and your brother already got caught up in this Akatsuki mess. I wish I could say he was perfectly fine and not to worry but since he was caught I doubt that is the case. I am sure he is still alive." Alice doubted he would be for much longer but she knew not to say that.

Temari frowned but despite herself felt just a tiny bit better. She looked to the dark haired girl and said, "I hope so too. Worst case scenario though he at least protected Suna from being destroyed even if it was at the cost of his own life. He wouldn't have been caught otherwise unless he was protecting the whole village at once from the enemy."

Temari sighed and the only thing that kept her from crying was her own strength and her training. She then said, "I just hate how this happened. Things were finally going good for him and then Akatsuki has to come and mess it up. Kankuro and I only got him back as an actual brother about three years ago, after the Chunin exams." The sand Kunoichi wasn't sure why she felt she could talk to Alice about this but for some reason she decided she could.

Alice gave her a soft smile and said to her, "Naruto told me about him. No matter how this ends you can bet Akatsuki will pay for it in time." Alice gave a yawn, "I think I should get to bed now. I have the last watch after all. It may not be possible but I hope you can get some sleep Temari-san."

Temari bade the girl in the blue dress a goodnight and then relaxed her body. She may not get sleep but she would at least get some rest.

{-} {-} {-}

The next day they were mostly quite while they continued their journey. Temari despite her better judgment ended up taking a short cut that cut their time by half a day. She said it was a path that usually wasn't accessible but the wind had been just right this morning that they could take it. She figured it could be forgiven that she showed them this route since it was an emergency. It wasn't too sensitive of a secret anyways at least. She also noticed Naruto was almost as anxious to get there as she was. She was getting a bit concerned about him. She figured she would try speaking to him or try to get Alice to at least. The Suna girl hoped the petite girl would know what to do to calm him down.

That night once they made camp and had supper she noticed that Naruto wandered off in a fit. Temari looked for Alice but couldn't find her anywhere. She figured she would talk to Naruto and remind him that he wasn't the only one with someone important on the line here if nothing else.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto was leaning near a tree with his arms folded cursing his luck. They weren't there yet, he knew Gaara really needed their help days ago but they kept stopping and making camp every night. If it was up to him he would have kept going and been there by now. Naruto was lost in his own thoughts and didn't notice the red chakra around him nor his eyes turning red. He finally stopped to breathe and the chakra receded but he was still angry and on edge.

Alice watched for a bit from behind a tree and frowned at the sight. She didn't like how the Kyuubi's chakra appeared even if it wasn't for long. She sighed and knew she had to calm him down. She stepped from behind the tree making sure Naruto noticed her approaching him. She came to him and did the only thing she could think of in a situation like this. It was the one thing she had wished for more than anything during the dark nights at Rutledge. She came to him and just as the Kyuubi's chakra was starting to rise again she wrapped her arms around Naruto and gave him a hug from behind.

Naruto froze as the chakra dissipated and he heard Alice say to him softly; "Calm down Naruto. We will get there tomorrow and find out what happened." He wasn't sure what to say to her. He stood there for a few minutes shocked but calming down. He took in her scent. He finally voiced his thoughts, "I don't know if we will get there fast enough to help… He is my friend and fellow Jinchuriki. I don't want to lose him too, like I have so many others." He hung his head down.

Alice let go and he turned around to face her while still hanging his head. The green eyed beauty hugged him again and said, "We will find a way to save him Naruto. But if nothing else, even if the worst comes to pass. You won't be alone Naruto."

He leaned into the hug and said, "No one cares much about me. Even you probably only put up with me because I summoned you here and you don't know anyone else that might be able to send you back. I don't really have anyone."

Alice hugged him tighter and said to him in a small almost hurt voice. "You do have me Naruto. I won't leave you alone while you need me. I'm not only around you because of the summoning. I care about you Naruto." Alice felt the blonde haired teen pull her tighter into his arms and then she heard tears hit her dress. Naruto tried to hide his tears but couldn't any longer. He rarely ever heard someone say those words to him. He also had never had someone hug him like Alice was right now. Alice unnoticed to him also shed some tears but she quickly stopped them she needed to be strong right now, despite her feelings.

After a few moments like that he was finally calmed down and they broke their hug apart. Alice gave him a warm and soft smile as she asked him, "Are you feeling better now Naruto?"

"I think so. Thanks I guess I needed that." He felt very weary but still didn't think he could sleep.

Alice then said, "No problem Naruto. I am here for you if needed after all. Do you think you could sleep tonight? I noticed you haven't slept during this trip. You've worried me because of that you know and the others."

Naruto gave a weak smile and said, "Sorry I don't think I can sleep tonight either."

Alice frowned and thought of something she had done to help the children at Houndsditch before she had her relapse. "Naruto turn around and sit down." Naruto looked at her questioningly. She said, "Oh just do it okay? It is nothing to worry about."

Naruto nodded and did as he was told. He was surprised when he felt Alice sit behind him and wrap her arms around him. He was about to say something when she broke him off, "Just relax Naruto. Don't worry about me." He decided he would do as she said. He felt calmer and more comfortable. He soon heard Alice start to hum a gentle tune. He breathed in the clean air and her scent. His eyes started to get heavy and before long he fell asleep. Alice kept in that position for a good while humming while Naruto finally got some much needed sleep so that he would be ready for tomorrow.

{-} {-} {-}

Temari watched the whole scene play out from a nearby tree. She couldn't help but smile despite being worried about her brother Gaara. Once she felt it was clear she came out and stood next to Alice and said in a quite teasing voice. "All I got was a hand on the shoulder and a few words. You know it is my brother in trouble right?"

Alice looked at Temari and said equally quietly, "Do you want me to give you a big hug and hum you a lullaby Temari-chan?" Alice gave a little smile to the Suna Kunoichi.

Temari grimaced at the thought. She didn't have anything against the girl but she thought it was too girly for her to receive something like that. "I suppose not." She sighed and said, "I do worry about Gaara though."

Alice frowned and said, "At least we will be in Suna tomorrow and we can find out what happened then, hopefully."

Temari nodded and sat down next to Alice in silence for a while. After some time she spoke again, "You know Alice-chan we probably shouldn't leave Kakashi alone with Sakura."

Alice smiled and said with mock horror, "You're right Lord knows what he would do to the innocent pink haired defenseless girl that can create carters in the ground with a simple punch."

Temari had to stifle a laugh before replying, "That isn't what I meant. Wow though, I mean Shikamaru told me she was really strong but I didn't think she was that strong. Either way he shouldn't have to do watch the most of the night or worry about where we went off too."

Alice gave a little laugh and said, "Help me get Naruto there without disturbing him then." The blonde Kunoichi nodded and stood up to help.

{-} {-} {-}

They managed to carry Naruto back without waking him up. Once they returned to camp Kakashi looked at them with annoyance for a couple of seconds before he saw they were carrying a sleeping Naruto back. He then sighed in relief and said quietly, "Phew I'm glad he finally fell asleep. I was worried about him. I noticed the Kyuubi's chakra a lot more these last couple of days and figured it was because he wasn't getting any sleep at nights."

Alice said to him quietly, "Yah I had too. He is asleep now though and that is what matters."

Temari nodded her support and then said, "I'll take his watch tonight. Since I was allowed to rest last night."

Kakashi eye-smiled and answered her, "Great you get first watch then that way you won't have to be disturbed during the night and can get us to Suna with a clear head." With those words Alice and Kakashi called it a night and Temari took first watch. Sakura was already asleep since they figured if anyone would be busiest in Suna it would be her the medic.

{-} {-} {-}

With the next day they finally made it to Suna just after noon. This would give them plenty of time to aide who they could immediately and find out what happened and what their next move would be.

Unfortunately it wouldn't take long for them to already get busy. Soon after they entered the village a sand ninja came and told Temari to hurry to the hospital where her other brother, Kankuro, was in bad shape after fighting one of the Akasuki.

Once they entered, the medic ninjas told her they can't figure out what to do about the poison in his system. Temari stood there in shock not sure what to do or say. Sakura noticed this and quickly put her hair in a short ponytail and started giving them orders. One of the medic ninjas quickly asked her, "Who are you?" The pinkette smiled and said, 'I am Sakura Haruno apprentice to Tsunade and third best medic ninja in Konoha." The medics started doing everything she said from then on. They knew well enough of Tsunade's medic prowess and figured right away that Shizune was the only other higher leveled medic in Konoha.

Temari despite all of her training and strength almost collapsed to the ground. Alice fortunately caught her and gave the blonde girl a reassuring hug as she cried softly into the dark haired girl's shoulder. The sand Kunoichi said things quietly to Alice such as, "I can't lose either of my brothers." And, "Why wasn't I here to help them." Followed by "They're all I have left of my family."

Alice just remained silent trying her best not to blame her presence somehow causing all of this. She frowned and thought to herself, _"Why does death always follow me around? This isn't Wonderland. I can't just magically fix everything by saving my own mind here."_ She knew she shouldn't blame herself for this. She knew it wasn't her fault. Alice also knew death was something common in the life of a ninja. None the less once time had passed and Sakura had made an antidote to the very advanced, complex, and previously before 100% fatal poison, on the fly using the skills and her brain to figure it out. She was relieved that she would this time at least be sparred of witnessing someone die and possibly leave all but one of a family dead. She didn't want Temari to become another version of her.

Sakura gave a cheer at her success and said he would need to recover for a while but he would live. Alice couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the girl as she thought, _"No wonder Naruto likes her. She is smart, pretty and strong."_ Alice then started fearing that maybe Naruto still liked Sakura a lot. Alice felt silly, but she still found herself inadequate to the people around her. The area around her felt dark and sad. Alice shook herself as Sakura said again thinking it was because of Kankuro's near death, "He will be ok, don't worry."

Alice pushed her thoughts aside. She would just prove she can be just as helpful and strong. She then gave Temari a little squeeze and said to the sand Kunoichi in a soothing voice, "Kankuro will be alright Temari-chan Sakura just said so." Temari was brought from her depressing thoughts of losing her brothers and looked up with a tear streaked face at a smiling Alice and then to an equally smiling Sakura. She gave Alice one last tight hug before releasing her and giving Sakura a big hug as a thank you and kept repeating thank you over and over to her.

Sakura couldn't help but smile and pat Temari on the back as the sand Kunoichi regained her composure and stood back up.

They soon heard a groan coming from the puppet user. Kankuro woke up and shocked them all as he said to everyone, "It was Sasori of the Red Sand that attacked me." Before anyone could tell him to lie down and rest he showed them a piece of cloth he had been holding the whole time and continued, "Use this to track him and Save Gaara!" He then collapsed again. The group headed back into the waiting room so he could get some rest.

Right outside in the waiting room before they could say anything an old lady tried to attack Kakashi calling him Konoha's White Fang. As she quickly launched herself at him. She found Naruto grabbing her out stretched hand and a blade to her neck. Chiyo stumbled backwards and realized that this wasn't the man she thought he was. Temari frowned as she said, "Fine way to thank the ones that just saved Kankuro and are here to help save our Kazekage."

Chiyo was shocked to hear that Kankuro was saved she had tried to help out but she couldn't. "I don't believe it. I saw his shape and tried but I knew only Tsunade could save him."

Sakura gave a smile and said, "I'm Tsuande's apprentice. She taught me a lot, especially about dealing with poisons. I was glad to help to out."

The old lady was once again stunned that someone so young even with tutoring could do such a thing. She knew she needed to apologize for what she did earlier. "That is impressive. Anyways I am sorry for my behavior. My old brain sometimes gets a little confused about these things. I'm Elder Chiyo."

Kakashi eye-smiled and said, "I am sorry as well. I am not Konoha's White Fang. He was my father. He has been dead for many years now. I am Kakashi." Naruto bowed and apologized to Chiyo "heh heh sorry about that." Alice bowed deeply and said fearfully, "I am sorry to have drawn my blade on you. I only wanted to stop you from attacking Kakashi-san. I wasn't planning on using it on you."

Chiyo gave a little chuckle and said, "I know. If you had wished to kill me I think I would have already been dead. I can tell you won't hesitate if it is to save your companions. You are really quick I must say." She didn't even notice the girl until after she noticed the young man and felt the blade to her neck. _"The young really are surprising."_ She thought to herself.

After she got up and they explained about the piece of cloth Kankuro gave them. Kakashi said, "I can use my dog summons to help track down where Sasori of the Red Sand went and then we can hopefully find Gaara." The ninja gathered agreed to this strategy and Temari was about to volunteer to go with them. She was the oldest and should protect and save her brothers, now that she was back in Suna.

However before Temari could say anything Chiyo intervened and said, "I will go with you. I may be old and sometimes senile but I am still capable of fighting in my own way. Sasori is a puppet master form Suna so only another puppet master that knew him when he was still loyal can hope to defeat him."

Kakashi wasn't sure about this he actually hoped to have Temari join them again. She was skilled, talented, strong and of course beautiful. However he saw the logic of the old lady but had to ask, "Can you keep up with us?"

She just laughed and said she could. She then turned to Temari and said to her, "I know you want to go Temari-chan but this is the better choice. You should stay here, rest a little bit and wait for Kankuro to recover. No doubt he will try to go out and fight sooner than he should. He will listen to you but no one else."

Temari bowed her head in surrender. The old lady was right and she knew it. "Okay. But as soon as we can we are coming. Also be safe all of you." With that the four pigtail haired girl went to her other brother's bed side and waited for him.

Once Kakashi summoned Pakkun Alice looked at the little dog and said with the hint of a smile, "Despite the long face he is kind of cute." Pakkun seemed to blush before turning to Kakashi and saying in a gruff deep voice, "Yes boss?" Alice gave a little giggle the difference in voice from appearance added to his charm she thought.

Kakashi gave him the piece of cloth and ordered, "Sniff this and lead us to the owner." With that Pakkun did as he was told and set off in the front leading the group to Sasori and hopefully the Akatsuki lair.

* * *

A/N: Hope the chapter was good. Next up is what obviously comes next. Also I know things might seem rather very much cannon right now but that is because not much has changed yet to deviate from cannon.


	9. Encounters with the Breaking Dawn

Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: Just so people know I had a few chapters of this story already written but I was working on a different story mostly and didn't want to post this until a reached a certain point in that story. Though I hate to say it but I had more fun writing this story than I did the other one.

* * *

Chapter 9: Encounters with the Breaking Dawn

As they followed the small dog Alice unbeknownst to the others was practicing summoning. She kept running through the hand signs and tried concentrating on different residents of Wonderland she knew were still alive or alive again. She of course didn't use any chakra (or as she called it energy) for the jutsu nor did she shout it out loud. She almost ran over the small dog since she was so caught up in her practice. She figured he ran a little bit slower than max speed and had to make sure he had the scent and followed it correctly so they wouldn't be caught off guard by sudden changes in its fading course.

Once he continued Alice noticed he smelled nice since she was right by the little dog. She couldn't help but comment, "Hey Pakkun did you just take a bath or something? You smell nice." The miniature pug said in his gruff voice, "I use Floral Green Shampoo. It leaves me feeling fresh as a new spring day."

Alice gave a nod and Sakura frowned once again reminded that she used the same shampoo a dog did. She had forgotten about that after all of the things going on at the time during the Chunin exam invasion. She didn't have anything against the little dog, but it still seemed awkward to her to use the same shampoo. She once again promised to get a different brand next time she needed to replace hers.

As they kept running Pakkun then asked, "What about you Alice? You smell lovely even with the hint of sweat." Alice blushed, she knew that he was a tracking dog but she was still caught off guard by his question. Sakura looked at her questioningly as did Kakashi; he wanted to know what shampoo she used for his own thoughts. Chiyo tried to just ignore the question. Naruto kept looking forward focused on Gaara and the mission. He wanted to know but didn't want it to be obvious.

Alice then answered so the others wouldn't keep looking at her. She blushed and said, "Well I haven't really had a chance to bathe since we left Konoha. While there I was using this shampoo, one of the nice vendors recommended me. It was unscented and would bring out my natural pheromones he said. I am not used to this whole shower thing yet."

Kakashi had traces of a perverted smile under his mask. Women that went Natural were one of his favorite fetishes. Sakura decided she would look into this and ask for the name brand after this mission. Naruto had to use all of his training to keep from showing his perverted smile. He liked Alice's natural scent... a lot.

{-} {-} {-}

They had to stop for one more night to rest before getting to where they figured the trail ended. Naruto wasn't happy about this at all but he kept control of himself remembering his talk with Alice on their way to Suna. As they were eating their meal the comm piece Kakashi had with him gave a series of clicks that he recognized as a code from Konoha. He clicked it on and quickly pulled the ear piece out since he heard a loud booming voice on the other end respond.

The others listened quietly as the two Jonins talked. Alice's eyes seemed to be glowing green with curiosity at the little thing in Kakashi's hand that he talked into and a voice on the other side responded to him. She had heard about these headset things from what Naruto told her, but seeing one being used was something entirely different. She leaned in closer to the device Kakashi held. Kakashi pulled it a little closer to his ear seeing if Alice would lean in even closer, which she did. Kakashi decided to make the sacrifice of his hearing if it got him physically closer to the young woman and put the ear piece almost right back in his ear.

Naruto frowned knowing exactly what Kakashi was doing. He didn't know why but he pulled Alice back a bit and said she was about to lose her balance. Alice thanked him and sat back down and Kakashi frowned and almost shed a tear, _"Curse you Naruto! I was so close! Oh well at least my ear drums will be spared now."_ The one-eyed Jonin thought to himself as he held the communication device further form his ears once again. Chiyo laughed quietly to herself at their antics. Sakura gave a little giggle knowing what was really going on as well. After some quick discussion the two Jonins decided on a rendezvous point to meet at the next day.

{-} {-} {-}

On their way to the rendezvous point Team Kakashi ran into Itachi Uchiha, who seemed to have been waiting for them. Itachi stood there and said, "Here to get the Kazekage? I am sorry to say, but you will have to go through me first, and if you by chance defeat me it will already be too late."

Naruto not really thinking things through the best at this moment immediately looked Itachi in the eyes and made a Rasengan and charged Itachi before hitting him with the move. He was surprised when Itachi dispersed into crows. Soon he felt pain on his wrist and looked around to see Itachi smirking as Kakashi said, "It was a Genjutsu. Don't look him straight in the eyes." Kakashi then turned and said, "You three wait there we will deal with him." After that Naruto and Kakashi teamed up against Itachi.

Alice held a half frown and said quietly, "Something's not right…" Sakura heard her and asked, "What do you mean Alice-chan?" Alice thought for a moment and answered, "His chakra doesn't feel right. It feels like he is being controlled by someone." Sakura narrowed her eyes and said, "We should tell them then." She was about to say something when Alice stopped her. Sakura looked at Alice for an answer. "I don't think we should let these Akatsuki people know I can tell that much about chakra already. I don't think they even know about me period. Like I said he is being controlled I think by the real Itachi somewhere else." Sakura wasn't sure what to think but she saw what Alice was saying. If they said anything it would give away information to Itachi.

The pink haired girl then said, "Haven't you already fought them before? Wouldn't they tell each other about things like that?" Alice answered, "They are a group of S-ranked missing Ninja. They each have betrayed their home at least once. Judging from what Jiraiya told us they don't share much with each other at all." Sakura turned back to the fight. It seemed like it was about over.

Naruto and Kakashi were doing fairly well against Itachi. So well in fact that Kakashi was figuring out this was just to delay them. He was about to finish this quick when Naruto was sent flying a good ways back. He managed to block and push Itachi back and was just about to make his move when it all ended.

Alice saw Naruto get sent back and then Kakashi make some space between him and this Itachi guy. She didn't like being told to sit back like she was some little helpless girl, but at the same time she didn't want to outright go against Kakashi's orders. She figured it was an order so that they wouldn't end up getting in each other's way or something. This was the last straw though, seeing Naruto being thrown, even if he was perfectly fine. She was sure she would be forgiven; besides she wouldn't be in the way. She took the opening and butterflied in and slashed with her vorpal blade and blood splattered on her white apron. Naruto soon appeared and he was ready to try something different but saw Alice finish the job.

They then noticed the corpse change to a Suna ninja. Kakashi was unsettled by this new jutsu. He had never seen anything like it before. Alice then said, "It is gone. The chakra controlling him is gone. He seems to still have some small hint of it that is fading away." Chiyo identified body and said, "He was a guard at the gates the night everything went down. What kind of jutsu uses the dead in such a way?" Kakashi just said, "I don't know. It isn't anything I have seen before. Anyways we should go."

Naruto a little bit agitated with the wasted time said, "Yah we have wasted enough time."

{-} {-} {-}

Somewhere far away from Naruto and the others, two cloaked figures sat on a rock ledge. One was a really tall man with blue skin. He was complaining about not being remembered by Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey. The other figure was shorter with dark hair, red and black eyes and two what he called 'maturity' lines on his face. He said while concentrating on the sealing jutsu "It is done we have delayed them. Turns out we guessed where team Kakashi was headed after all." He then thought over what he had seen. Both Naruto and Kakashi had gotten stronger and improved a good bit. They handled his body double fairly well even if it only had a small amount of his chakra at its disposal.

However, it was the last moment of the fight that intrigued him. The green-eyed girl he didn't know moved faster than his eyes could keep up with, and when she slashed the double's throat her blade sang through the air. He guessed she might have been the real reason why Zetsu didn't 'need' to follow Team Kakashi, since they were following Sasori's trial thanks to the tracking dog. He would hazard a guess she was a good sensor maybe, and for some reason the Akatsuki spy didn't want to deal with her. He was there when Zetsu returned to their base earlier than expected claiming there really wasn't a reason to keep watching the boy when they had other matters to deal with.

Zetsu, Itachi knew was the most loyal of Akatsuki. However this didn't say much really. No one in Akatsuki was truly loyal. They were all traitors to their village and everyone else. Well they were all traitors to their village except for him. He was only there because he couldn't kill his brother and chose to disappear so that Sasuke could kill him and restore the honor of their clan. While he dealt with that man and protected Konoha form the organization.

Unfortunately, it was more difficult than he thought it would be to deal with that man. Itachi knew that Tobi, 'Madara Uchiha', was really running the show and that Nagato, 'Pain', was the figurehead leader. Since the two worked together he couldn't make a move yet, especially since Konan was always by Pain's side. Itachi was strong and he was good but three S-ranked ninjas on one were not odds he liked.

{-} {-} {-}

The group kept going as fast as they could, following the trail until Alice said aloud, "Four chakra signatures almost heading this way, a little ways to the right of us." Kakashi thought for a minute. He wasn't sure if they should take a quick detour to meet with them or not. The group could be the reinforcements, a Suna patrol or enemies that might try to ambush them thus delaying their retrieval of the Kazekage.

"Are they moving fast?" Kakashi asked needing a little more information for his decision. Alice held a thoughtful look for a minute before replying, "Yes they are going very fast towards the meeting place it seems like." That was all Kakashi needed, he knew now they would be the reinforcements. "Alright we are going to intercept them be on your guard. However, I think they might be friendlies." With that they headed to intercept before getting to the assigned meeting place. They might as well meet up sooner since they were close especially after what happened earlier.

{-} {-} {-}

Team Gai was well on their way to help and support Team Seven in their mission to save the Kazekage. Tsunade-sama felt that she could at least send some help as soon as it was available against Akatsuki. Fortunately Gai also had experience with Akatsuki and fared pretty well against his opponent from the reports she read. So they were sent to help and Gai decided to declare it a race to see who gets to Suna first despite team seven's lead. Last night they had gotten in radio contact and set a meeting place so they were racing there instead now.

Their race had been going fairly well, they were making good time. Until they came across Kisame, who attacked them in an effort to delay them. The blue skinned shark man put up a good fight and even managed to capture all of Team Gai in water prisons except Gai-sensei. Gai soon turned the tables by opening the sixth gate and using his Morning Peacock jutsu which is so fast the kicks and punches catch on fire from friction and speed alone.

Despite this set back they were back on their way and everyone was back to normal while they focused on the mission. Lee was being as youthful as ever. Neji was serious even though he was more youthful than before his first Chunin exam. Tenten, as always had her fires burning bright. Gai was proud of his team and how they had all grown. Soon Neji spoke up snapping Gai from his musings, "Gai-san. Team seven is heading this way with a couple of others I don't recognize." Neji had noticed them for awhile but he didn't see a reason to say anything, since they would meet up soon enough at the assigned location. However once they changed course to intercept, which he wondered about, he spoke up.

Gai put on his serious face, as he said, "Alright we will wait for them to meet with us." They all stopped. Tenten was happy to stop; this 'race' was getting to be a bit ridiculous she thought. Lee was disappointed; he wanted to finish the race. He vowed that once they were back in Konoha he would do 200 laps around Konoha hoping between alternating hands. And if he couldn't do that he would do 1000 kicks to each post in his favorite training ground.

After a few minutes, team Kakashi landed near them with Pakkun, an old lady, and a beautiful girl with dark hair and vivid green eyes. The green-eyed girl caught Lee's attention right away. Kakashi said, "Good job Alice-chan. Remind me to have your sensing abilities tested once we get back to Konoha." Lee's youthfulness ignited hearing her name. It was so youthful! In a sudden motion he appeared in front of her and said, "Alice-chan! Will you go out with me?!"

Tenten placed a hand on her forehead and sighed. The whole thing was just so much a Lee thing. Sakura was trying to control her features. She thought it was horrible a man would just ask a girl out without even thinking. Besides she thought he only reacted like that to her so the pinkette was a little bit jealous though she wouldn't let it show. Naruto almost growled at this. It was a waste of their time on this important mission. Also he didn't like how Alice was blushing at Lee's question.

Alice was shocked at this green wearing ninja with large thick eyebrows in front of her, he was fast. She barely could see him move. She was even more shocked and a bit embarrassed when he asked her out on a date. She wasn't used to any kind of attention like this. She blushed a bit but still kept her manners and said, "I thank you for the offer but I regretfully must decline. I don't even know you sir."

Lee actually gave a nervous laugh before saying loudly, "I am sorry it is just your youthfulness caught me off guard Alice-chan. I am Rock Lee Konoha's Beautiful Youthful Beast." Alice thought the guy seemed nice enough but she still wasn't sure what to make of this scene. She winced when suddenly the boy said much too loud, "Yosh! I must get to know Alice-chan and prove my youthfulness!" Alice didn't have any idea what he meant by youthfulness but stayed silent not wanting to ruin his apparent good mood.

Gai let out a booming laugh to match his equally loud voice, "Ha Ha Ha! Lee-kun it is nice to see your fires of youth burn so brightly. But we do have a mission to complete and introductions to make." Lee bowed and apologized to Alice as Gai continued, "As you know the wonderful youth there in beautiful green is Rock Lee. Neji Hyuga is the serious faced one over here. And Tenten is the fiery youthful Kunoichi. I am their sensei and team leader Konoah's Sublime Beast of Prey Maito Gai!" He then struck some strange pose.

Neji rubbed his forehead and sighed. He and Gai were the same rank and yet Gai still acted like his sensei. He didn't really mind so much but sometimes Gai went a little far. Tenten just gave a friendly smile and waved to the others.

Alice bowed her head a little and gave a small curtsy as she introduced herself. "I am Alice Liddell a new Kunoichi of Konoha. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance good sirs and ma'am." She then stood back up straight and gave them a small smile.

Neji's eyes narrowed and he looked Alice over carefully and kept his features schooled despite a very small and almost unnoticeable blush on his cheeks. He decided that he liked the girl already. She gave the most polite, formal and pleasant greeting he had ever received. The fact that she wasn't from the Hyuga clan made her manners seem even better.

Tenten rubbed the back of her head and gave a few bows feeling she needed to do so after such a greeting. Gai gave a nice guy pose as he decided this girl's fires burned bright as well.

Chiyo blinked a couple of times and decided she couldn't follow up such a greeting. Since she was old though, she didn't need to do that. "I am Elder Chiyo of Sunagakure. I am here to aide in dealing with Sasori of the red sand. He is a puppet user and I am one of the best in Suna."

After that they continued until they reached the end of the trail. They looked around the area and noticed a seal on the ground in front of them holding up a barrier. Neji used his Byakugan and noticed there was chakra linking to it from other sources. "There are other seals and they are linked together. It looks like we will have to remove them at the same time." Kakashi then gave a little smirk under his mask and pulled out three more comm devices and held them out for all to see.

Alice leaned in closer and looked at the small devices with vivid green eyes burning with curiosity and eagerness again. Kakashi gave a look at Naruto and said, "Here Gai-san have your team put these on and then spread out to find the other seals and remove them." He gave an eye smile to Naruto and said, "If you want Alice I can show you how one of these works personally after this mission."

Alice looked at Kakashi who was facing her once again and said happily, "Oh? Would you do that Kakashi-san? I so very much would love that." She gave him a bit of a puppy eyed look without even knowing she was doing so.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head and eye smiled at her with a bit of a blush as he said, "I did just say that Alice-chan. It would be my pleasure."

Naruto was about to say something to break up the atmosphere, but it was surprisingly Neji that did so. "Anyone could show you Alice-cha… Alice-san. But anyways we have a mission right now." Naruto's mouth was agape. _"Neji?! Neji almost called a girl –chan?! I didn't even know he thought about girls. I thought it was all fate."_ Naruto thought to himself.

Team Gai then grabbed the comm links and Neji led them to the first seal and pointed out to them there was a trap of some kind on these secondary seals for the barrier. Once they were all in place they clicked on their comm links and Gai said in a rather normal voice, "Alright Kakashi-san we are in place. It looks like your team should go ahead without us once we remove them. There is some kind of trap on all of these secondary seals that will activate once we remove them."

"Thought there would be something like that. Alright. Once your team has dealt with whatever happens, come back to this cave entrance." Kakashi replied to them before explaining to his team.

"Alright team on three." Gai said, "1. 2. 3!" With that all of team Gai removed the seals and braced their selves for whatever was to happen.

{-} {-} {-}

Kakashi also removed his seal and they watched as the barrier fell. Kakashi then said, "Alright now to just deal with this boulder." He was thinking for a minute and about to ask Naruto to try a Rasengan when Sakura walked up to the boulder, brought back her fist, and then punched the rock causing it to crumble into pieces. Kakashi's eye grew wide and even the two Akatsuki members inside were surprised at how quick she got through. Alice smiled and asked, "Sakura is that what they call 'girl power'?" Sakura smirked and said, "You're damn right it is." Naruto and Kakashi both once again thought to their selves they never wanted to piss off Sakura.

The blonde haired Akatsuki member said, "Unnnn. Seems like you won't have to wait too long after all Sasori."

The hunched back Akatsuki said, "Good! You know how much I hate waiting Deidara."

Deidara then gave a smirk and said, "So you have come to retrieve the body of the Kazekage Unn?" He then patted the gord on Gaara's unmoving body.

Naruto growled and charged forward only to be stopped by a puppet from Sasori. He hit the puppet to the side but already Deidara was on some kind of clay, bird looking thing taking off while he laughed at the others. Naruto quickly launched himself to the walls and ran up to start following the blonde Akatsuki man.

Sasori then said, "Ahhh old lady Chiyo I didn't think you would come after me yourself."

"I should have dealt with you long ago. I thought that maybe you would come around but clearly I was wrong. I am only here to clean up my own mistake. Attacking your own village, taking our kage and leaving his brother to die, I can't believe you are the same person I once cared for after your parents died and taught the art of puppetry to." Chiyo shouted at him.

Sasori gave a rattling laugh, "Tell me how is Kankuro? I found his ideas about art interesting. He would have lived if he didn't get struck by that poisoned needle trying to pull a fast one on me after I had already defeated him. The flesh is so weak. Puppet form is much better."

Chiyo grimaced and said, "Your beliefs about art and puppetry are flawed greatly."

Sasori shifted a little bit and said, "Then I will have to show you how my art is correct and it is you that are flawed, as your body ages and you become weaker. Now get ready."

Kakashi asked quickly, "Think you can handle this Chiyo?"

She thought for a second and said, "Leave this to me and Sakura. Go get our Kage back." She knew she couldn't do this alone but with the pink haired girl she figured they had a chance.

Kakashi nodded and motioned for Alice to follow him, and the two of them left to chase down Naruto.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto was running and hoping on tree tops throwing kunai and shuriken at the clay bird Deidara was flying on. Deidara was dodging rather easily. The clay user laughed and taunted the blonde shinobi, "You are so unfocused and angry that this is hardly any work at all for me Demon Brat!"

Naruto just growled remembering how he was always called things like that when he was younger. He was close to losing himself to rage when he lectured himself for getting careless. He then made some shadow clones the next time he went under the tree line before reappearing afterwards once again. He had his clones stay under the tree canopies so that Deidara wouldn't see them.

Deidara noticed the kid seemed calmed down now and knew he would have to be a bit more careful. However he hadn't expected kunai and shuriken to come suddenly from different locations. He thought quickly and used his clay to explode and knock them off course or destroy the ninja weapons.

Naruto gave a little "Tch…" but was glad that he now at least knew about the exploding clay. His clones below threw more projectiles at him from different angles, which the clay user again responded with explosions. Deidara laughed and taunted, "You should know I can keep this up a long time Blondie boy." Naruto was trying to think what to do about this situation and wished he hadn't left the others behind. He would have summoned Alice but the Akatsuki member started throwing his own shuriken at the boy. Naruto stared wide eyed as he noticed the shuriken were made of clay. He managed to get out of the way just in time as they exploded.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice and Kakashi were going as fast as they could to catch up to Naruto. Fortunately the trail was easy to follow with Alice's sensing abilities. Soon enough they started to hear explosions going on and that made them hurry faster. Alice seemed to get more focused and move even faster to get to Naruto. Kakashi sped up as well, though he was a little more exhausted than Alice. He had gotten better with his Sharingan than before but it did still drain him and he used it some when they fought the Itachi double earlier.

They finally managed to catch up to Naruto and barely dodged clay kunai from the bird riding man. Naruto yelled at them, "Move! They explode." The two jumped out of the way just in time. Naruto growled and said, "Damn bird! If he wasn't on it then this would be so much easier." Kakashi then said, "I have an idea I need just a little bit of time to set it up though." Naruto said, "Make it quick then Kakashi sensei." Kakashi nodded and disappeared below the treetops.

Naruto and Alice dodged more explosive shuriken. Alice then whipped out her cards and started throwing them. Deidara smirked and launched a few explosives to intercept them. However he was surprised when the cards cut through his clay before it exploded and would have taken his head off if he hadn't ducked just in time. "Seems I am in a bit of trouble unn." He said to himself.

Kakashi was focusing on his Sharingan. He had during the last two years mastered the fourth stage of his Sharingan and learned a new ability. His ability, Kamui he called it, allowed him to send a target to another dimension. He still had some trouble aiming it and getting the size just right but he had to take the chance nonetheless. Once he was ready he came back up and after dodging more explosive clay and seeing one of Alice's cards clip the wing of the clay bird but not causing enough damage to force it to land he aimed and shouted, "Kamui!"

Deidara shifted just a bit to the side and noticed some strange spiral distortion of air around his right arm. A barrier formed around his arm and he couldn't move it. Soon what looked like a black hole started appearing on his arm before everything near it disappeared including his arm. The strangest thing was he felt no pain at all. However his weight shifted more to the side and it caused his clay bird to tip a bit, and the Kazekage's body fell off. "Un. This really isn't going so well." Deidara said to himself.

Kakashi shouted as he moved towards Gaara's body, "Damn I missed! I will get the Kazekage to a safe location and check on Sakura and Chiyo. You two will have to handle this." He then managed to use his Sharingan to see where the body would fall and get to it just in time to keep it from hitting the ground. He hated leaving them like this but he had no choice. He was exhausted from using his Sharingan. He had to turn off the fourth stage with some difficulty. His Kamui attack took more out of him than he thought. He had to trust Alice and Naruto here and for some reason, he wasn't sure why, he knew they had this. However he was concerned about Chiyo and Sakura. So with Gaara's body he went back to the cave and would help them the best he could.

{-} {-} {-}

Once Kakashi left them Naruto growled and said, "That was so close! If only we could get him off of that damn clay bird!" Alice thought for a second and said, "I think I have an idea on how to even out the playing field so to speak." Naruto asked, "What is it Alice-chan?" She said to him, "Watch! And keep him from throwing those explosives at me for a second."

She landed on top of a tall flat top rock. Deidara threw some explosive shuriken at her thinking she was stupid but they were intercepted by Naruto's own shuriken and shadow clones. Before Deidara could make more he heard her shout. "Summoning no Jutsu!" Both Naruto and Deidara were surprised, neither knew she could summon.

Alice waited for the blue smoke to clear and was glad she had memorized and practiced the summoning hand seals. She knew the energy signatures of her Wonderland friends having been there many times before during her life. They would change but they always had a similar feeling to them. Naruto's explanation helped her realize what this was.

The smoke cleared and before Alice stood a proud and noble beast with the head of an Eagle and the body of a loin with wings. He was also larger than he was when she saw him in Wonderland. The noble beast bowed his head and said in a grand and majestic voice. "How may I aide you this time Alice?" Alice reached up and gave Gryphon a quick hug before saying to him, "I am sorry… I am sorry I cannot give you a proper welcome back I need you to allow me on your back along with my friend Naruto. I will ask more once we have done that. Also watch out for that clay bird's explosive projectiles." Gryphon responded as he lowered himself so she could climb on, "No need to apologize Alice. I am honored to fight by your side once again."

With that Alice got on and then Gryphon shot into the sky as Alice grabbed Naruto on the way up. Naruto smiled and said, "I should have known there was more to your questions about summoning than just simple curiosity Alice-chan. I guess this is the results of Cheshire's project?"

Alice smiled and said, "I am sorry I didn't tell you sooner Naruto-kun but I wanted it to be a surprise. Yes Cheshire made a Wonderland contract. I daresay once this mission is over and we are back in Konoha I will have to make a visit there."

Gryphon hearing this said, "It would be a good idea Alice. Many wish to see you again so they can thank you for saving it another time and ask that you don't let it go to ruin again. Anyways what shall I do?" Alice thought for a minute and then asked Naruto if he had any ideas. He did and shared them so that only they could hear.

Deidara finally recovered from his shock and cursed his luck, his life, and finally and most importantly Akatsuki. They supposedly had the best spy in the five nations but they didn't have anything on this Alice woman. He sure as hell wouldn't share with them if he made it out of this alive either. _"They screwed up! Let them all burn for it! Especially Pain!"_ He thought to himself. He wasn't stupid he knew since they too were now air born he was the one at a disadvantage. He prayed he could fly faster at least.

Soon Gryphon shot towards the clay bird faster than Deidara could see. He was barely able to dodge the flying beast. He threw some clay shuriken at them hoping maybe they weren't as maneuverable as he was. He was sadly mistaken when Gryphon dodged with ease, dived a bit and then shot upwards at his bird. He dodged this too but saw that the dark-haired bitch managed to clip his tail feather with her cards making it impossible for him to dodge again.

Gryphon flew up and came back for a dive again. Deidara was ready this time though. He threw clay shuriken up at them and he smirked before he saw the blonde haired boy looking right at him and finishing up some hand signs and shout, "Wind style: Great Breakthrough!"

Deidara's eyes grew wide as his own explosive clay came back at him. He jumped off his bird and was glad that he wasn't too high up so he could land safely as the whole thing exploded above him. He wanted to think that maybe the kid was caught in it as well but he doubted it somehow.

Fortunately the jutsu also sent Naruto up a bit which kept him away from the explosion and gave Alice and Gryphon enough time to catch him before he fell to the ground. They soon landed quickly and close to where Deidara landed. He had just gotten back up when he saw the winged gryphon take to the sky making it impossible for him to reform his bird even if he had enough clay to do so. It also gave them an extra set of eyes from above so he couldn't easily slip out of the clearing they landed in.

Deidara showed no fear to his opponents even though he knew he would most likely not make it from this battle alive. The three ninja faced each other waiting to see who would move first. Naruto threw shuriken at Deidara. The clay user dodged them easily enough but he soon was cut by a singing blade. It wasn't fatal fortunately. He slashed at her with a kunai but she burst into smoke and butterflies before knocking him with an electrified mallet. He went flying a bit and recovered just in time to avoid a punch from the blonde that broke a nearby tree's bark. _"This is just not fair!"_ He thought as he continued fighting the best he could with one arm. How was he supposed to hit someone if they burst into smoke and butterflies and moved liked that?

The clay user sent another punch which Naruto dodged. Naruto threw a kick his way but he jumped out of the way only for Alice to hit him again with that mallet giving him a minor shock along with the hit. Next Naruto then shouted "Rasengan!" Before the blue spiraling sphere made contact Deidara managed to use a clay clone substitution. Alice thinking Naruto didn't notice managed to knock him out of the way of the impending explosion.

Deidara cursed his luck again. These two had really good teamwork. He threw some clay shuriken at them but the girl turned around and used some strange umbrella to knock them back before they exploded. Naruto Charged towards him through the smoke.

Naruto got in a kick that sent Deidara skiding back. Alice then charged at him as well. He jumped to the side dodging her and was about to counter when Naruto sent a punch at him that sent him sideways. The two blondes started a Taijutsu exchange. Naruto broke off after escaping an oncoming kick. Alice went right in and slashed out with her knife. Deidara dodged and weaved and sent a kick her way. She felt the contact and flew back a bit as Naruto immediately came from the side attacking Deidara. Deidara countered and blocked the best he could but didn't notice the item Alice dropped that looked like a jack in the box.

After a few more seconds Naruto jumped back and Deidara looked down when he heard the end of some strange tune playing. He jumped back a bit and his eyes widened when he saw the flame coming his way and catch hold of his cloak. In his last seconds of life Deidara cursed all of Akatsuki to burn in an inferno of incredible horror, before he used them for practicing his art in hell for all eternity. Seconds after the cloak caught on fire and he had scrambled without success to get it off the clay using Akatsuki member exploded and his internal organs flew all around the clearing.

Naruto grimaced at the messy end. The only reason he didn't hurl was his training and the fact that it meant the end of the Akatsuki guy since the mess didn't fade away like it would have if it was only an illusion. Gryphon landed down next to Alice who only flinched with the explosive end to their fight.

Gryphon said nonchalantly, "That was a rather messy end there Alice. I am surprised you don't feel sickened by it." Alice responded, "After going for a romp in Queensland twice there isn't much that causes me to lose my lunch."

Gryphon gave a laugh and said, "Indeed I doubt there is. Well at least now Queensland isn't such a rotting place." Alice then replied, "I am glad to hear that. Do you mind giving us a lift to the cave Gryphon?" The noble summon then bowed his head and lowered his body so they could climb aboard, and Naruto couldn't help but wonder how horrible Queensland was if the insides around the clearing didn't faze Alice.

{-} {-} {-}

Sakura and Chiyo were both breathing hard, surrounded by broken puppet pieces and weapons. Their battle had not been an easy one. They managed to break and destroy, after some difficulty what turned out to be Sasori's puppet armor. Chiyo was shocked to see that Sasori had managed to make his own body into a puppet. It was bad enough he had done this with two previous kages and planned to do the same with them once he saw how strong Sakura was but this was even worse.

They fought more after that and Sakura realized she couldn't keep up with his movements in this new form of his. They had barely managed to defeat another puppet of his and he then showed that he could work a hundred puppets at once. It was at this time that Sakura came up with the idea to let Chiyo attached chakra strings to her body and use her as a living puppet. This allowed them to make quick work of the hundred puppets. It turned out that even though he displayed a hundred of them he couldn't use all of them at once. The small groups he had used weren't as versatile either.

Sasori managed to just now get them with a poisoned needle as well. He was gloating a bit, "I must say you two have been very difficult to fight but it matters not now. I have poisoned you both. You two shall die in a few minutes. Though I supposed I could at least make it quick for you two as a way to show my respect." He then sent his last puppet to attack them.

As the puppet approached the pinkette smiled as Chiyo used the opening to have Sakura send a powered punch to the puppets center causing said puppet to also break apart. Sasori said in surprise, "How? Did you do that? The poison should have slowed your movements significantly."

Sakura smirked as Chiyo got ready for her next attack. The pink haired medic then said, "I cured your poison and kept a few antidotes for our fight with you. Elder Chiyo and I took them when this fight started." Sakura then sent a punch at him that sent his Heart case flying from the body. However he countered and gave Sakura a good hit. Chiyo pulled her back and brought out the puppets of Sasori's parents.

Sasori glared at them and said, "You dare use my own creations on me? It matters not you will never destroy my heart now that it isn't inside my body."

Their fight continued Sasori was getting worn down but he wouldn't die not without them finding his heart. The red haired puppet user kept sending it flying everywhere. Sakura was able to land a mid-air hit on it once but that was all. The case was damaged though. Sasori had to be more careful with it now.

Eventually the case did break apart and his heart went flying. Sakura could almost reach it. She threw a kunai at it but Sasori blocked it, saving his heart. However, it was at this time that Kakashi made it back and ran inside to help them. Kakashi threw a shuriken at the heart and it made contact. Sasori would have been able to save it but at the same time Chiyo used his puppet parents to keep his body in place while cutting all the chakra threads except for one.

Sasori gasped in surprise. He knew it was over now. He looked at them and said, "Heh. At least I get to die in my parents embrace… I will tell you something as a reward for defeating me. I know you, Sakura Haruno, along with Naruto wish to save your supposed teammate. I have a spy in Orochimaru's ranks. He is high up as well. I was supposed to meet him in three weeks' time to exchange information. We were to meet at the Heaven and Earth Bridge near the village hidden in grass. Go there and you might be able to find one of Orochimaru's bases, the one with the Uchiha." With those final words the puppet master died in the embrace of his parent modeled puppets.

"Good thing you came when you did Kakashi-sensei. I wouldn't have been able to get to his actual heart. Weren't you with Naruto and Alice though?" Sakura said facing him.

Kakashi nodded and then ordered, "Come with me. I recovered Gaara but it doesn't look good maybe your medical knowledge will help. I left him with Gai's team." The Jonin then led the two women out of the cave to the clearing.

* * *

A/N: I know cliff hanger but hey it would have been way to long otherwise. Also I hope I did Alice's and Naruto's fight well. Feel free to tell me what you think of the chapter if you want.


	10. Mission Complete!

Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: Just a fair warning I am close to the end of the chapters I already have written for this story.

* * *

Chapter 10: Mission Complete!

Kakashi was a little worried as he ran with Gaara's body to a hopefully safe location. He put his trust in Alice and Naruto, but he figured it would be alright. Gaara couldn't be used as a human shield nor would they hold back hoping not to harm the young Kazekage. He came to a clearing away from the cave. He thought about it and decided taking Gaara there would give Sasori an advantage if he managed to swipe it from him. He wasn't sure what to do with the body so he could go and help out Chiyo and Sakura.

{-} {-} {-}

Things weren't looking up for team Gai. These fakes they were fighting proved to be tough opponents. They had all of their moves down and knew how to counter them. Neji's fake even had the Byakugan and knew all the Jukien he did.

Lee was blown back again. His fake just stood there waiting for him to make his move. He laid there for a bit and said through his intercom to the others. "Are you all having just as much of a hard time as I am?" All the others gave their affirmative.

Neji spoke up, "They know all of our moves. It is as if they made a direct copy of us from how we were the moment we touched the seals."

Tenten spoke next, "This fake has the same gear as me even it seems."

Gai added his two cents, "Mine has all of my moves but not the youthfulness I do. But in this fight that doesn't seem to be a factor."

Lee attacked again, his fake easily countered and threw him towards a tree. Once he landed Lee thought of an answer to this problem. "Were you guys at full power when you removed the seal?" Each member of their eyes widened. Neji answered first, "No. A true Shinobi never goes all out right away."

Tenten smiled and said, "It is always a good idea to hide your true strength at first when fighting an opponent so you can figure them out."

Lee said, "Then the answer is quiet simple. We go all out now and show that we are even stronger than before!"

Gai gave a laugh and boomed over his headset, "Good Job Young Lee-kun! So my youthfulness does matter after all. I was just smothering it from my shock. That ends now!" The others gave their own yell and at that moment all three fakes knew they were doomed. It didn't take long for each to defeat their fake after that.

The three met up shortly after only a bit worse for wear. Gai smiled at his Students… No former students and now colleagues. He boomed to them, "Good job fellow ninjas. We have done well so far." They each gave a little smile knowing the significance of Gai's words to them. He gave a nice guy pose for a few seconds before turning serious and saying to them, "But we have much to still do. Neji if you would use your eyes to lead us back to Kakashi and the others."

Neji quickly activated his Byakugan and said, "It seems that Kakashi is in a clearing with what might be the Kazekage. Should we head to him Gai-san?" Gai thought for a second looked over his team and decided it would be best if they did head to Kakashi. They needed a little rest before they could be much help fighting an Akatsuki and they might be too much help and get in the way. "Yes we should. I have a feeling Kakashi would be better able to aid the others at this moment. Lead us to him Neji."

Team Gai then speed towards Kakashi and Gaara's body. Once they got there, just a couple of minutes after the one-eyed man reached the clearing, Kakashi greeted them. "You guys look like you have been through a bit of a scuffle." He said to them. Gai boomed to him, "We had some trouble with the seals. What do you want us to do since we are your backup?" Kakashi thought for a second and ordered, "Stay here and guard the Kazekage. I will go and help Sakura and Chiyo-sama with Sasori. Alice and Naruto should be fine." With that he left and was able to deliver the last blow to Sasori.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto had to admit if the situation wasn't so dire he would be the happiest ninja in the entire world. He was sitting behind Alice with his hands wrapped tightly around her waist so he wouldn't fall as they flew on Gryphon's back. He actually enjoyed the sensation of flying anyways as it was. However, they still had to complete their mission so he couldn't fully enjoy the ride.

Alice would have liked this whole thing much better if they didn't have to worry about the mission and helping Naruto's friend Gaara. She noticed they were coming close, but there were two ways to proceed. She turned to Naruto and she was inches from his face. She blushed a little bit just then realizing how close they actually were before speaking to him. "Naruto it seems there are two groups of signatures up ahead. One at the cave the other in a clearing to our Left. Which one do we choose?"

Naruto thought for a bit and said, "The clearing. That is probably Team Gai with Gaara." With that they turned left and continued. After a little bit more Alice said to him, "Good thing we went left the others are now headed that way as well. They will get there a little bit before us. I think." Naruto just hummed a response.

{-} {-} {-}

Kakashi, Sakura and Chiyo just got into the clearing. Sakura's eyes widened she could tell that Gaara's case was really bad. She ran faster the last couple of seconds and started doing medic jutsu right away. She didn't like this, it was looking really bad. She could tell that she was repairing the damage to Gaara's body but not much else. They soon heard a whoosh of what sounded like giant wings and then a shout, "Gaara!"

Naruto jumped down and immediately got to Gaara. The blonde was starting to panic now. He kept saying loudly that Sakura should help him. He didn't mean to but it actually hurt Sakura a bit hearing him say that, as if she was once again useless. She said in a frustrated voice, "I am Naruto! What do you think I am doing?! I can't do everything. I haven't finished my training yet." She then said quieter hoping he wouldn't hear, "I can't bring back the dead…" She then turned away not able to do anything else. She had fixed his body but it seemed his soul was already close to crossing over.

Chiyo then made her decision to herself. She would do the life transfer and save Gaara, who the village needed more than anyone else right now. She knew she would die but it would be worth it. She had no more regrets nor anymore wishes to fulfill. She then came over and said in a soft voice with a little pride, "I can save him. I know a way to do so. It is something even that slug princess can't do."

Sakura made room wanting to see what the elder was talking about, and hoping she could learn it, to use herself. She did want to ultimately surpass her Sensei. Chiyo's hands started glowing blue as powerful energy that no one knew the old woman had came forth and covered Gaara's body in a blue glow. Neji used his all-seeing eyes and was the only one to realize the elder was using not chakra, but her own life force and giving it to Gaara.

Chiyo began sweating a bit from the strain. She knew her energy alone wouldn't be enough so she said, "I need a little extra oomph due to my recent battle. Can anyone lend a hand?" Naruto immediately placed his hand on her left shoulder and she told him what to do. It was the boost she needed. She was pleased that after a little bit longer with the end of her life, she will have redeemed herself a little bit for all of her mistakes in life. Naruto kept saying quietly "Come on Gaara. You can't die yet. You finally reached your dream of being a Kage. Besides I haven't become a Kage yet and shown you how it is done, friend."

{-} {-} {-}

Gaara found himself in an area surrounded by white. It was peaceful here, but he also felt like he shouldn't be here, not yet at least. He still had to do a lot for his village. He thought about his village how things were getting better. He liked this peaceful place. He thought about his life and everything in it. He was starting to feel that maybe he could rest finally. He felt a burden had been lifted from him. His first duty was over with now. He was thinking he could just let it all go.

He then thought about the people he met in his life. The things he had yet to still do. He also thought of a certain Kunoichi that he helped save a couple of years ago. She was just a little bit older than him but not even a Chunin. She was scared of weapons and wasn't a full on Kunoichi until a couple years ago.

Each Ninja has to choose a weapon of some kind before they graduate in Suna. He had trained her to use a weapon that suited her. She would have been a Chunin in no time but she chose instead to help Gaara, since he was important to the village and some still feared him. She had been sort of a secretary to him and helped him run the village smoothly. He also thought that maybe there was something more there but he was still new to feelings that weren't all about killing to validate his existence like he was as a Genin.

This caused him to think about the Chunin exams and his first defeat. It was also when he finally realized his views at the time were wrong. It was because of his first friend and fellow Jinchuriki that he found out how to become truly strong and a better way to 'prove' his existence. _"Uzumaki Naruto"_ he thought to himself and gave the smallest hint of a smile. The blonde had done great things for him when he won their fight with only using a small amount of the Kyuubi's chakra if any.

As he thought about Naruto he heard his voice. "Don't die on me Gaara. You reached your goal of being Kazekage. You need to protect your important people. You need to at least wait until after I become Hokage and show you how a Kage does things." Gaara smiled he wanted to head back now. He wasn't ready to die, it wasn't his time but he still couldn't figure out how to get back.

Suddenly Gaara heard a voice seemingly form everywhere. "You can't die yet Gaara. Naruto still needs you. Your village still needs you. I have yet to meet you. Naruto told me about you and I want to meet you." The voice had a pretty accent to it. While being warm, it also sounded as if it was ordering him to stop being dead. He focused on the second voice and used it to guide himself back to the world of the living. Naruto gave him the push to make his choice. The girl's voice gave him the focus to get back to his body.

The whiteness around him started to disappear. He started taking in his surroundings. He knew Shukaku was gone now. He feared if it would severely affect his abilities or not, but was also glad the mad voice pretending to be his mother was gone for good.

{-} {-} {-}

Chiyo was ready to die. She felt the last of her life force about to drain away when suddenly to her shock and amazement she felt her life energy returning to her. She feared that something had gone wrong with the ritual and that it wasn't going to work. She then noticed life returning to Gaara as well.

She looked to her left and figured it couldn't possibly be him. She then looked to her right and saw Alice's hand on her shoulder as well. She looked up and saw a look of determination in her green eyes, but she wasn't the key either. She noticed the girl whispering "You can't die yet Gaara…"

Chiyo just stared as the ritual finished and Gaara opened his eyes to see the people gathered around him. He immediately noticed Naruto whose mouth was hanging open before the blonde gave him a hug. Naruto said to him, "I knew you couldn't die on me like that Gaara!" Gaara reached up with one arm and returned the hug while saying, "Uzumaki Naruto. It is good to see you again. What all happened?"

Naruto was about to say something when suddenly he was shoved aside as two sand Kunoichi pushed him away as they hugged Gaara. Temari and a few others had arrived just when Gaara was waking up. The two Suna girls kept going on and on about how they feared they lost Gaara and how they would get stronger so they could do better in the future to help protect Suna and their Kazekage.

The scene was touching but Naruto didn't like it. He wanted to talk to his friend that he had almost lost. He sighed and realized he would get to later and the villagers and ninja should get to rejoice the return of their Kazekage. He still didn't like it though and he was just a tiny bit jealous of the attention Gaara was getting.

Sakura gave a little chuckle at the sight, half in amusement and half in relief. She turned to Chiyo and said, "That was an amazing technique you used. What did you do?"

Chiyo still wondering what was going on said in shock, "I was using the life transfer technique… It is a Suna jutsu that is forbidden to use most of the time. In essence it takes the caster's life force and gives it to the recipient. What happened here today was a miracle. I should have died but I didn't. I am not sure what to do now. I had made my peace and I don't have anything really left now." Sakura gave her a soft smile and went to get Naruto up off of his ass. Chiyo was thinking that maybe the combined force of her, Naruto and Alice wanting Gaara to return had somehow reached the ears of Kami, who took pity on them. There wasn't any other explanation.

As Sakura forced Naruto to finally stop fake mopping and get up off the ground, Alice leaned in and said to Chiyo in a whisper she would only hear, "Help the young ones. If not as a puppetry instructor then in another way."

Chiyo thought for a second on that. Suna was recovering very well but still there were things that needed help. They still had orphans to take care of after they were tricked into that doomed invasion about three years ago. They also couldn't let Konoha and the slug princess get more of a lead on them in medical ninjutsu. There were other things as well. The old woman chuckled to herself and thought, _"Seems the old can still learn a thing or two. Maybe I am getting senile. I hadn't thought about helping in those ways even with how things, with my grandson turned out."_

A grand and noble voice was heard from near Alice, "Is there any other way I can help you Mistress Alice?" Everyone gathered paused and stared at the Noble creature before them. No one noticed Gryphon standing there because they were focused on Gaara.

Alice walked over to Gryphon placed a hand on his beak and said, "That will be all Gryphon. I am sorry to have used you without first meeting you again after all these years. Thanks for your help." The summon then bowed his head and said to her, "Worry not Alice it was my pleasure and honor to aide you once again." Gryphon then vanished in a puff of light blue smoke.

Alice turned around and was a bit surprised to see everyone staring at her. She felt a bit uncomfortable and did what came naturally to her. Alice gave a curtsy and then said, "I am Alice Liddell it is a pleasure to meet you all."

Gaara then returned her greeting with a bow and said, "Liddell Alice it is nice to meet you as well. I am Gaara of the sand, Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure. I wish to thank you and the rest of Konoha for your aide." He then turned to Gai and his team and bowed to them as well.

Next he thanked Sakura and Kakashi along with elder Chiyo for their help. Finally he turned to Naruto and said, "Uzumaki Naruto, I especially thank you for all you have done." He then gave him a deep bow along with all of the gathered Suna ninja. Naruto gave a bit of a nervous laugh and said, "It was no big deal. Gaara. I am mean Kazekage-sama."

Gaara smiled at him and said, "You are my friend Naruto and have done a lot for me. You may call me Gaara. I do hope you and the others will stay and recover before heading back to Konoha." He turned to Kakashi at the last part.

Kakashi said, "We should probably head back right away-y-y." Kakashi then collapsed on to the ground. Gaara looked concerned and questioned Naruto, "Is he alright?" Naruto just smiled and said to Gaara quietly, "He probably just used too much chakra and needs some rest. It was a tough fight."

Gai let out a laugh and said, "Seems my eternal rival needs to recover. I guess we will have to intrude on you hospitality Kazekage-sama for a bit longer." Gaara nodded and Gai said he would carry Kakashi back to the village on his back. Naruto and Sakura then hefted him on to the older bowl cut's back.

Lee saw this and was inspired, thinking it could be some new kind of training and so he said, "Neji-san. Let me give you a lift back to Suna as well!" Neji grimaced and answered, "Not Happening Lee." Lee pouted but then decided he would just head back using his hands only and walking backwards.

They headed back and everyone kept whispering, "Did you see that summon?! I have never heard of one like that." A Kunoichi whispered, "Maybe it was a lost contract or something that Alice-san found and signed." There were other whispers as well and Alice tried her best to ignore them though, she was wearing a disapproving half frown the whole trip back. Naruto tried to cheer her up but it was too little avail.

{-} {-} {-}

The gate guards were extremely happy to see their Kazekage returning leading everyone else. The villagers gathered near the entrance, waiting to hear the news, shouted out cheers and praises once Gaara returned. Many that still had some worries about him no longer held them. They respected him and feared him, but now as anyone would a Kage. That night there were many celebrations in Suna with the return of their Kazekage, who defended the whole village himself at the risk of his life.

{-} {-} {-}

It had been a couple of days and Alice was looking through the selection at the grocery store in Suna. The prices were higher but she supposed that made sense. You can't really grow much in a desert after all. She kept looking and as she made her choices and paid the cashier she heard more whispers around her. She did her best to ignore them but the only thing that kept her from losing her temper, was the fact she knew the whispers were actually good ones. She headed back to the guest house Gaara lent them while Kakashi recovered.

She entered the building and placed the ingredients for tonight's supper and tomorrow's breakfast away. She sighed and greeted Neji who was one of the few that stayed in the house most of the time. Gai and Lee had taken to training around Suna. Sakura was doing her best to help with the injured from the Akatsuki attack in the hospital. The pinkette insisted, saying she couldn't just sit around all day. Tenten was being shown around the city by Temari.

Naruto was spending time with Gaara and would pop in form time to time, so that he didn't keep the Kazekage from his duties too much. Matsuri, a girl that had taken to serve as Gaara's secretary again, had chased him out a few times saying he was just distracting Gaara. Gaara didn't mind though, he was able to work as well as catch up with his friend, but Matsuri could be very persuasive when she wanted to be so Naruto complied.

Alice and Temari had become friends after everything that happened. Alice wished she could have gone with Temari, she wanted to see Suna and the sand Kunoichi asked her to come. However, Alice knew there would be lots of whispers and curious children following them around. She didn't mind it at first but it really did get old fast and irritating.

Alice really liked Temari and even gave the sand Kunoichi a nickname. Alice smiled as she remembered it from before the whispers got really bad.

- Flashback-

Temari was showing Alice around the outside of Suna. She wanted to give the dark haired girl a tour inside, but Alice felt she would get in the way of the village celebrations. She was showing Alice one of their evaporated salt basins they harvested for export and domestic purposes.

Temari was explaining to Alice how they retrieved the salt when she noticed the girl stopped and was staring at something on the ground. Alice had a faint smile on her face as she reached down carefully and picked something up. "What do you have there, Alice-chan?" Temari asked. Alice looked up and beckoned the sand Kunoichi over to her. Temari walked over to her wondering what it was Alice wanted to show her.

"Desert Rose. I have only seen them in a geology classroom before when my dad took me on a tour at the universty and it wasn't this beautiful." Alice said as she looked at the rock closely. It had two clumps with many well defined plates in a pattern that, as its moniker says, looked like flower petals. It had two well defined, 'roses'. Temari was also mesmerized by it. She had seen some of these before but this one was particularly pretty.

Alice smiled and looked at Temari and said to her while holding it out, "Here you should take it Temari. You are a bit like a Desert Rose." Temari blushed and shouted, "I am not!" She paused for a bit looking away before asking, "H-h-how so?"

Alice gave a little giggle and said, "You are. You were raised or made by these harsh sandy conditions. You have sharp defined edges but at the same time you are still beautiful." Temari still blushing took it. She didn't know what to say. She did feel a little happy. Despite being tough and serious she still had a soft side to her. Few saw it though, her siblings did sometimes but other than that only Shikamaru and now Alice saw it as well. Temari looked at it closely and then she broke the two 'roses' apart and gave one to Alice.

Alice looked at her questioningly as Temari said, "Take it as a souvenir and a Thank you." Alice looked at her and said, "Thanks for what Temari?" Temari looked away and said, "For helping of course." Alice was still a little confused and asked, "Why? I was simply doing my mission."

Temari turned around and looked her in the eyes and said, "When I saw Kankuro in the hospital you comforted me. No one else would have done that. Also though it wasn't the best attempt you tried to comfort me on the trip after I heard about Gaara. I still wonder why you seemed so concerned and worried. It couldn't have been just because of the mission failing or Naruto losing his friend. It seemed deeper than that."

Alice held the desert rose to her chest and said, "I was hoping you wouldn't have to suffer what I did. I hate seeing death in that manner." Temari looked at her questioningly.

Alice continued, "I lost my family when I was younger. I blamed myself. It drove me mad and where I came from they didn't really have good ways of treating people like me. I don't want anyone else to go through what I did. Fortunately, it seems that they are a bit, if only slightly, better at treating people here from what I have seen." Temari still wasn't clear but she knew not to press.

The two continued their tour before heading back. Temari immediately went in to her room and picked up a small display box she found a while back and placed the Desert Rose in it. Temari smiled to herself and thought, _"She may be different and I haven't really known her for too long, but maybe she is a friend I will have in Konoha."_ Being a Kunoichi she didn't have many she could call a friend.

She felt she could think of Alice as one even if she was in a different hidden ninja village they were allied with. Usually alliances were only there for convenience, to be broken when deemed necessary. However, the current Hokage and Kazekage were dead set on making this a permanent and strong alliance along with most of the ninja and villagers in the two hidden villages. The Land of Fire and the Land of Wind for all other purposes had a really strong alliance anyways so it would only be right that the ninjas did as well.

- End of Flashback-

Alice smiled as she looked at her Desert rose. She placed it in a box she found yesterday at the market for safe keeping until she got back to her place.

Naruto came in and wondered why Alice and Neji were both inside. He figured Neji would be but Alice he thought would want to see the sights. "Hey Alice-chan. Why are you inside? I mean the rumors can't be that bad. Can they?"

Alice sighed and said, "No they aren't bad at all. It is the only reason I haven't told them to stop talking about it forcefully. But really they are getting out of hand. I am not some warrior princess from a long forgotten land that finally rejoined the world at large to help fight Akatsuk,i and find myself a Kage to marry… " Alice sighed again.

Naruto laughed louder than he meant to laugh but he couldn't help it. The whole thing was funny. When Alice sent him a glare he stopped and said, "I'm sorry… heh heh I am sorry Alice. But I mean it is kind of funny. Besides it is mostly because of your great manners and the fact Gryphon called you his mistress."

Alice gave a little smile and relaxed as she said, "Well For all intents and purposes I suppose I am his mistress. I can summon him at will and I did save Wonderland by defeating the Queen of Hearts. I then saved it again later from the ruin. Perhaps I am lucky he didn't call me something more embarrassing like Queen Alice."

Naruto smiled and then said thoughtfully, "Queen Alice hmmm? Ha ha… I like it." Alice gave a little smile and said, "I guess it does have a certain ring to it. However, don't you dare call me something like that. As for my manners, they are only natural. Father and Mother made sure Lizzie and I were well behaved young ladies when need be. Though Lizzie did have a bit of rebellious streak to her." Alice smiled thinking about her sister.

Naruto then said, "Anyways I just checked in with Sakura and she said Kakashi-sensei should be rested by tomorrow afternoon." Alice let out a breath in relief and said, "Good! I can't get away from here soon enough. I just hope people don't start calling me Princess Alice to my face."

Naruto gave a foxy grin and said, "hmmm… I think I like that better than Queen Alice." Alice gave him a mock glare and said with fake agitation, "I said don't call me things like that."

"Sure thing Princess Alice." Naruto barely dodged the pillow thrown at him and laughed a bit before saying, "Anyways, We should leave the day after tomorrow. If it took him any longer to recover I was half tempted to ask Gai-sensei to carry him all the way back to Konoha. Sakura glared at me and scolded me." He cleared his throat and said in a horrible imitation of Sakura, "How dare you Naruto! No one deserves that fate. If you believe he does maybe you should be forced to ride on Lee's back all the way to Konoha."

Alice rolled her eyes and stated sternly, "I should lecture you on proper etiquette for doing something like that, but the imitation was so far off I don't see any reason to do so. However, if this becomes a habit of yours Naruto. I will tell her all about it, and allow her to deal with you as she sees fit." Naruto gulped and paled remembering how Sakura more or less vaporized that giant boulder in front of the cave with just one punch. Alice gave a satisfied smile knowing she got her message across.

{-} {-} {-}

Kakashi did wake up as Sakura predicted and that night they shared a meal hosted by Suna in honor of their help in retrieving their Kazekage. The Konoha ninja tried to back out but Gaara demanded they wait until tomorrow morning before heading back with an honor guard to the border.

At the meal, they were in a place of honor seated with the Kazekage and his siblings. The meal wasn't a large feast but it wasn't small either. It was a modest amount, but the taste of the food was exquisite. Alice actually enjoyed herself with the others. There were other important people from Suna in attendance as well, but it wasn't a large crowd and they didn't whisper loud enough for Alice to hear they were gossiping.

Alice displayed impeccable table manners as she usually did. Sakura was nervous but tried her best, which was passable. Kakashi was used to things like this having done infiltration missions into parties of high standing people in other villages to gather Intel.

Naruto was nervous just like Sakura but he wasn't hiding it as well. He kept mentally repeating to himself the things Alice had taught him during their trip saying to him, 'If you want to be a Hokage you will need to have half way decent manners at the least.' He managed to make it through the dinner anyways and had an enjoyable enough time talking to the Sand siblings.

Alice was really relieved to be away from all of the gossip. So relieved in fact she didn't notice Neji was studying her with admiration. _"If I could somehow invite her over for dinner at the Hyuga residence it would be worth it to see them brought down a peg by facing her."_ He thought to himself. He knew the main family would be shocked and bring their heads out of their asses, if only a little, if they saw someone like Alice, who wasn't from a well-known clan or anything, display manners they would envy.

Neji had gotten better in accepting things and wasn't as hot headed about fate and such, but he still had a beef with many of the head family. He secretly hoped now that Hinata was proving herself, even if just slightly, she would grow into a great head of clan. There was still some debate as to if she would be head or if Hanabi would be though.

Fortunately Hanabi was also starting to think like Hinata about changing the clan for the better. However, Hanabi would be under the thumbs of the elder council too much. Hinata, who he was seeing as a defiance to the old ways, would be strong and able to do what she knows should be done. Hinata just needed to finish growing her backbone.

Neji looked around the hall and thought to himself, _"Unfortunately for Alice she will for sure be seen as some long lost princess from a most noble clan after this it seems."_ It was unfortunate but he also did find it a bit funny nonetheless. These important people were holding their tongues now, but once they started in the morning, they would be all over talking about how they were able to dine with not only the Kazekage, but also 'Princess Alice' last night. If they actually thought she was a princess or not, wouldn't matter. Looking around the room though it was obvious they thought she was. They thought her a warrior princess but a princess nonetheless.

{-} {-} {-}

The next morning the Konoha ninja met Temari and Kankuro at the front gate before their Honor Guard got there to lead them to the border. The two siblings once again thanked both of them for saving Gaara. Temari pulled Alice's ear to her mouth and whispered, "You know after last night's dinner everyone is now 100% sure you are some kind of princess." Alice frowned. Alice expected this but still wasn't happy about it. Temari saw her frown and concluded, "Not some delicate princess though. But still a princess nonetheless." Alice was partly mollified to hear that at least.

Naruto turned to Kankuro and asked him, "Hey man where is Gaara? I was hoping to say good bye to him here at the gate, and thank him for letting Kakashi fully rest up before we head back." Kankuro smiled and said, "Well Naruto. Gaara is currently doing something he hasn't in a long time. He doesn't have to worry about the one-tail anymore." Naruto smiled and said, "I only hope he doesn't end up becoming lazy like Kakshi-sensei." The two laughed at that. Naruto had told both Gaara and Kankuro about the one-eyed Jonin's perpetual tardiness before.

Sakura had already said her goodbyes and waited with team Gai and Kakashi as Naruto and Alice finished up. She actually felt a bit left out that she didn't get to know Temari or Kankuro any better. She didn't let it get to her though because she was busy helping with the hospital and she even learned a couple of things she could improve on and use in Konoha.

Alice had finished with Temari and now waited with the others. Kakashi eager to get back said aloud, "Naruto we need to get going." Naruto looked at him and then said, "Later make-up man." Kankuro growled a little and said, "It's war paint!" The two then gave each other a friendly jab to the other's arm followed by a laugh and a fist pump.

{-} {-} {-}

The trip back was actually more reasonable and uneventful. Naruto got anxious for a bit when he heard Sakura share with them what she was told by Sasori before he died. The blonde haired shinobi calmed down realizing he couldn't make time travel any faster. He ended up enjoying the trip back after that and once they got back there was still almost a week and a half to go before the meeting at the bridge.

Once Kakashi checked them all in, Gai and his team were dismissed since they just provided backup and had already sent a report to Tsunade. Kakashi would have dismissed his team but he figured they might be needed in the debriefing.

{-} {-} {-}

"You're willing to take this risk for a meeting on a bridge?" The Fifth Hokage asked. Naruto and Sakura nodded vigorously. Alice said, "If Naruto wants me there I will go as well." Alice wasn't so eager to go meet a spy in the snake man's ranks.

Neither of them were sure this was going to work out like Sasori made it seem. However Naruto and Sakura would risk the meeting if it could prove fruitful in their quest to get Sasuke back. Alice didn't like it but would go and help if Naruto wanted her to go along.

Tsunade wasn't sure about this situation. She saw the determination of the ninjas in front of her though so she said, "Alight in a week and a half from now you will be going to this bridge." Naruto and Sakura cheered.

Tsunade then said, "However, I feel for this mission and maybe some others in the future someone else will be with your team. Due to what I read about in the report." Naruto looked downcast knowing it was because he lost his cool and used the Fox's Chakra without meaning to do so or realizing it.

Tsunade saw Naruto's look and thought maybe she could cheer him up just a little bit with what she said next. "You will still work with Kakashi a good bit, so don't worry. However, the civilian council thinks you should be watched some to make sure nothing unexpected happens, dealing with your special circumstance Naruto." Naruto wasn't as sad now but it might have been because Alice placed a comforting hand on him.

Sakura was wondering what this special circumstance Naruto had was. She remembered hearing Kakashi mention it during their trip to rescue the Kazekage. She might have pressed but she noticed it seemed to really weigh on the blonde ninja's shoulders. She hoped maybe Naruto would tell her sometime soon. Sakura also felt a little jealous that Alice seemed to already know what it was though. _"Really just how much more does she know him better than me now? It seems everyone knows my own teammate better than I do."_ The pink haired girl thought to herself.

Tsunade then said, "Kakashi I have a mission you need to deal with at the same time. It requires your special skills and experience. I want you to rest for a couple of days before you go. In fact, I want all of you to rest for a couple of days. That means no intense training if you do any. I heard and read you all had a pretty tough mission and broke the record for crossing to the border between fire and wind. Even though you rested in Suna I still want you to take two more days rest." The Fifth Hokage then gave her gathered ninja a stern look that said, 'don't even think about disobeying that order.'

The Hokage then said, "Also Jiraiya left to look into some important things so he won't be back until at the earliest after your mission to the bridge. Anyways you are dismissed. Naruto, Sakura and Alice I want you three back here in two days' time to meet with Kakashi's co-team leader." Naruto, Sakura and Alice then all three left the office. Kakashi stayed behind though.

Tsunade sat down in her chair and said, "What do you want Kakashi?"

Kakashi stepped in front of the desk and said to her. "A couple of things. From what Alice and Naruto told me, the two of them managed to work together and kill Deidara."

Tsunade waited for him to continue. "I wanted to say that the two are really good for each other. And they seem to somehow just mesh well. Alice also managed to calm Naruto down a few times and stop him using the Fox's chakra. I sort of left that out of the report. I figured it would garner needless attention to the two of them but I wanted you to know anyways."

Tsunade smiled and said, "I could tell there was something between them. I am glad to hear that Alice has that effect on Naruto. What was the other thing?" Tsunade did wonder if part of the effect Alice had on Naruto was due to her being the only one to actually show him true affection of some kind.

Kakashi answered, "I wanted to know who my 'co-team lead' was, since I have that mission."

Tsunade nodded and then summoned for an ANBU Captain. The man was decently tall with brown hair. He wore an ANBU mask that looked like a cat but had green and purple markings. Kakashi recognized him. The two of them worked together a lot when he was still ANBU. Tsunade then said, "Please remove your mask." The man did as told. He had large almond shaped black eyes and he wore a black shirt that went up to his chin.

Tsunade then said, "You are now known as Yamato. You know what your new duties are. Make sure you get your required uniform change."

Yamato then bowed and turned to the one-eyed Jonin and said, "Kakashi-sempai. I am pleased to be working with you again."

Kakashi gave an approving nod and said, "Well I am sure you will do a good job with them Tenzo." Yamato frowned and said, "I am Yamato now… Not Tenzo." Kakashi eye-smiled not really caring and turned to Tsunade, "Does he know about her?"

Tsunade looked a bit offended. Did he really think she wouldn't have briefed him about Alice? She said to him evenly, "He knows about Alice. In fact, he was one of her guards when she entered Konoha and escorted her to her interrogation. That and his abilities are the reason why I selected him to be your Co-leader. He can use Wood release very well now."

Kakashi's eye widened. He knew Yamato was always good, but to now be able to use the wood release he was given in an experiment when he was younger, while so many others died from it, was out right impressive. It was a benefit from Orochimaru's horrible deeds but still not worth the price. Kakashi and Yamato bowed to Tsunade and the two of them left to go and catch up as well as discuss their team.

Tsunade leaned back and stretched for a bit before sighing in frustration and getting back to that dreaded paperwork.


	11. Rest and Relaxation

Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: Warning! There is some 'skin ship' in this chapter that gets really close to going too far. Our favorite pervy sage would no doubt be inspired.

* * *

Chapter 11: Rest and Relaxation

After they were dismissed Naruto lead both Alice and Sakura to Ichiraku's to celebrate their successful S-rank mission. Naruto was grinning broadly the whole way to the ramen stand.

Sakura was grinning as well she had two days off! Two days off from the hospital. Two days off from training. Two days to fully recover from their mission. She didn't have that luxury in Suna like the others did since she kept herself busy helping in the Hospital there.

Alice was giving a pleasant smile. She finally had time to explore Konoha more and since the super pervert was gone she was thinking of trying out these Hot Springs people always went to. She didn't think Jiraiya would have peaked on her for fear of seeing the Knightmare up close and personal again. However she still didn't want to have to be worried he might get smart and find a way to peak at her without her noticing.

They kept walking until Naruto saw some familiar faces. Naruto grinned a little bigger as he almost dragged Alice to meet some of his friends. Sakura gave a laugh at Alice's surprised face as Naruto took her to meet the two in front of them.

Kiba and Shino were talking to each other about the mission they just finished earlier that day and suddenly noticed Hinata had disappeared behind a fence quickly. They weren't sure why until they heard a familiar loud voice yell to them. "Hey Kiba! Shino! What's up guys?!" Naruto finally let go of Alice and immediately shook hands with his two friends.

Kiba gave a smile from a top a rather large dog and said, "Hey Naruto?! When did you get back? Looks like you got stronger man. Seems like I will have to train harder to make sure I get that hat first!" Kiba kept grinning and hoped off of the dog. Kiba was wearing a form fitting black leather jacket, black ninja pants and black sandals. He was taller than Naruto remembered him and looked a little wilder than he did before.

Naruto then looked at the dog Kiba was sitting on and finally seemed to figure it out. "Whoa! Akamaru! Dang boy you look Awesome and strong." Akamaru gave a booming bark in acknowledgement. Naruto turned to Kiba and said, "You look stronger as well man. I won't let you catch up to me though." Naruto gave a toothy grin and Kiba gave a bit of a laugh and then Naruto said, "Congrats on getting Chunin Kiba! Sakura told me about everyone's promotions. Anyways I came back a while ago but soon was sent on a mission to Suna which we just finished getting debriefed from."

Kiba then laughed and said, "I somehow knew you would get right back into action once you got back. Thanks for the congrats. I'm sure you will get it next time you take the Chunin exams." Naruto smiled and said "Yah I know I will with my team when we go for the exams. Oh yah! I forgot to introduce you to someone that's new to the village." Naruto then motioned for Alice to come over and introduce herself.

Alice as she did many times before gave a curtsy and said politely, "I am Alice Liddell. I joined Naruto and Jiraiya towards the end of their training journey. I am now a Kunoichi of Konoha. It is a pleasure to meet you Kiba-san and You sir. I am sorry but I didn't catch your name." She looked at Shino at the last part.

Shino was surprised and even blushed a little bit. Someone actually noticed him without him first bringing their attention to him. He then gave a little bow and said, "I am Shino Aburame. I am a Chunin. It is a pleasure to meet you as well."

Alice gave him a polite smile and Naruto said, "Whoa man heh heh sorry I didn't notice you were still here Shino Congrats on getting Chunin as well." Kiba was busy looking Alice over. He gazed into her piercing beautiful green eyes, her lovely dark hair, her petite but still decently curvy frame and her intoxicating scent. Fortunately, he didn't let her wonderful scent distract him too much. Though he did vaguely notice some drool coming out of the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away and kept staring, taking her in.

Alice seemed to be lost in thought for a bit and then said, "Aburame… Ah yah. You're the clan that uses bugs right?" Shino nodded fearing she would be grossed out like girls usually were by his clan's abilities. Alice then looked at him and studied him from a couple of different angles before saying, "How is it your clan's people can rest with insects inside your bodies? Do they not always buzz? I think that would make it hard to deal with a colony or two despite how useful their abilities may be. It really is curious."

Shino blushed a little more not able to believe this, a girl that wasn't completely grossed out by his clan. Maybe there were others that would be the same way as well? He quickly recovered and answered her. "We actually have hives they stay in at night for that very reason. On missions however we use a technique that dampens the buzzing to bearable levels and we have learned to adapt to the noise level and only respond to a bug that uses a warning signal."

Alice then gave a smile and said, "Ohhh… That sounds very handy." Alice then turned to Kiba, who Naruto was having fun poking since the dog user seemed to be completely focused on Alice. Naruto didn't like this but decided to poke him and maybe draw something on him with a marker rather than lash out at him. Alice then spoke to Kiba. "Kiba-san, I hope my lack of knowledge about your clan won't offend you, but I was wondering why you were riding your dog."

Kiba finally snapped out of his daydreaming about Alice and noticed he did just in time as he saw Naruto reach for a marker. Naruto said "Tch." Under his breath and placed the marker back away.

Kiba answered the green-eyed beauty, "Ahh yah. You see it is a sort of rite of passage you could say. When our nin-dogs are first paired with us they are only puppies. They spend their early lives helping us out but they ride on top of our heads or in our jacket so they can conserve their energy for training and missions. As a result, once they grow up we ride on them. The dogs actually wanted it this way, saying it was only fair. We can communicate with them you see. The only exception to this rule I know of is my sister. She has three nin-dogs that were born as triplets and all three bonded with her before anything could be done about it." Kiba gave a grin after he finished.

Shino didn't want to be forgotten again so he decided he would give a bit more info about their team. "Kiba and I are teammates along with Hinata Hyuga." He pushed his sun glasses up a bit. Shino was also taller now and stronger as well. Not much could be seen of his face though. He wore a jacket that hid the bottom half of his face and stretched down to his knees. He wore an additional hood on top of his jacket. The hood barely concealed his Konoha headband.

Kiba then looked around and noticed that Hinata was still hiding. He mentally sighed to himself. He knew like most did she had a crush on Naruto, but she was so shy that she barely ever talked to him. Usually when she did she would soon faint. The worst part is she's very much the opposite of how she acts around Naruto. She is strong and she is less shy and willing to talk to people than she was at first now. She was even still in the running for clan heiress. After their first Chunin exams she started to grow a backbone finally and stood up to her father and told him off for how he had treated her. She then demonstrated her true skill in their following spar.

He remembered that day and how proud their team was. She had shown her father the protective eight trigrams sixty-four palms and managed to cut through her father's rotation. She even managed to use it to cut through Neji's rotation as well. In fact the only reason she wasn't fully named the Heiress is because the elders know they can't control her, so they have tried to road block her whenever they can. He and Shino knew once she stood up to them she would be the undisputed clan Heiress. However, Hinata was also a gentle and kind soul, so she hadn't forced them to acknowledge her yet.

Kiba said while thinking all of this, "Yah it seems Hinata decided to dash off for some reason. So where were you three going anyways Naruto?" Naruto frowned he had hoped he could see Hinata again. He wanted to thank her once more for the ointment she gave him awhile back. It had helped them out greatly also he liked the weird girl that always fainted around him and thought of her as one of his precious people.

Sakura decided watching their interactions while fun had also pissed her off_. "The way they both stared at Alice. What is it about her that gets attention like that?" _ The pinkette thought to herself. She couldn't really bring herself to completely out right hate Alice for this though. The girl seemed to not even notice her effect on the guys. She broke from her musings and answered Kiba, "We were going to Ichiraku's to celebrate the successful completion of our mission."

Kiba grinned at her as well. Sakura was a bit relieved even though she knew Kiba was like that with pretty much every girl. The Inuzuka then said, "We were just debating what to do as well. Mind if we come as well? I mean it is a shame Hinata ran off. But it would be nice to catch up anyways and maybe learn more about our new Kunoichi." Kiba said the part about Hinata louder than necessary and finished his statement by giving Alice his friendly grin. Kiba always liked a chance to chat up new girls.

Naruto had mixed feelings but decided it couldn't hurt. He knew it would be good for Alice to get to know the others but he just wished Hinata was coming. He felt that the two might be able to get along well. He gave a whoop and said, "Sounds good! It is Ichiraku's after all the more the merrier right Alice-chan?" He looked at the blue dressed girl and noticed she seemed to be thinking about something. He wondered if she had noticed someone or something they hadn't. He asked her again, "Right Alice-chan?"

Alice broke from her thoughts deciding to address them later and she nodded her head and said, "Yah. Hopefully We won't be too crowded in there but as you said the more the merrier."

{-} {-} {-}

The group left together to head for Ichiraku's. Hinata frowned to herself and kicked herself for hiding like she did. She was stronger than this and she didn't like how familiar the Alice girl seemed to be with Naruto. The Hyuga Heiress would do anything for Naruto she could, even if it meant giving up on him if he would be happy with someone else.

However, she had to make sure that girl was deserving of Naruto-kun at least. She wasn't going to just sit back and let this new girl get Naruto-kun without a challenge. She sighed and left for her clan's compound. She wasn't going to do something crazy and ruin their celebration and fun. Naruto deserved to eat at Ichiraku's with friends and have fun there.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruto was happy to be going to Ichiraku's with some other people for a change. He had managed to drag team seven there a couple of times but that was it. Usually Kakashi left quickly after they were dismissed. Sasuke would refuse to go anywhere with them that he didn't have to, and Sakura would never go alone with Naruto because she didn't want him to think it was a date and get any funny ideas. Naruto frowned to himself a little bit. Remembering the way things were back then hurt. Kiba noticed and spoke up, "Something wrong Naruto?" Naruto looked up and gave his usual grin that didn't quite meet his eyes and said, "Nah I was just thinking about something is all." Kiba shrugged and kept walking.

Alice seemed to know what Naruto thought about wasn't something to be dismissed that quickly. She then placed her hands on one of his and gave him a smile. Sakura was watching from the corner of her eyes and noticed that Naruto was shocked a little bit but then his grin seemed to actually become happier. Sakura then frowned having finally noticed what Alice did shortly after first meeting Naruto. _ "That grin just now was his usual grin but then when Alice grabbed his hand it changed just a little bit. Did that mean he usually fake grinned but I just never noticed it before?" _ Sakura felt guilty that she never really noticed that before even when spending all their time together in team seven.

As they got closer to Ichiraku's Naruto jumped ahead and quickly shouted his usual greeting to Teuchi. "Hey old man I need some ramen!" Teuchi gave a chuckle and replied, "Hey Naruto-kun. Ah Alice-chan and Sakura-chan too. And Kiba and Shino. Are you celebrating something?" Naruto grinned even more happily. He wasn't happy with how things were in the past, but now things were better. "Yah Sakura and Alice-chan and I just completed a mission." Ayame then came from the back and said, "Oh does that mean Alice is a Kunoichi now?"

Alice smiled at the older girl and then showed her white apron where you could see the Konoha symbol just below where it tied back. Alice then said, "Given the unique nature of my clothing I just have the symbol placed on my dress apron." Ayame smiled and said, "ohhh… Well congrats Alice. Already had your first mission as well? That is impressive." Alice then said, "I have actually completed two missions now. Though the first one was more by happen chance than anything." Ayame looked puzzled and asked, "What do you mean Alice?"

"When I was brought to the Hokage for the mission I went on with Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura. I happened to also have in my arms a certain escape artist cat. Tora really is a sweet thing though and she was fun to play with." Alice answered with a smile.

"You mean you just happened to have Tora, the demon cat, with you and in your arms when you went to the office?" Kiba asked not sure if to believe it or not. Alice frowned and said, "That is what I just said. But really she is sweet and playful there isn't anything demonic about her."

As they sat down, Naruto wondered what Alice meant by playing with the cat. He also supposed compared to Cheshire no cat looked very demonic. He was about to ask but Sakura beat him to it. "Hey Alice, What did you mean by playing with her?"

Alice gave a pleasant smile and described her encounter. "Well first she wanted to play chase. I didn't know cats liked to play that. After we found ourselves near a little pond with cat tail plants I picked one and teased her with it as she batted it with her paws a lot. After that she got tired and so I sat down and she hopped in my lap and I started petting her softly. She had really smooth hair and she has such a cute little purr." Naruto imagined the cat being rather vicious while 'batting' the plant and then giving up knowing there was no escaping Alice.

Kiba scowled and asked, "Chase?" Alice turned to him and said, "Yes chase. She ran from me and hopped from roof to roof before then leading me to that pond place. She seemed faster than most cats, but it wasn't much to keep up with her." Kiba sweat dropped and thought to himself, _"So in other words it was a normal mission but she sees it as playing…"_ The inuzuka sighed dejectedly not sure what to think while remembering the many times team 8 got that mission.

Sakura gave a little laugh and said, "That doesn't really surprise me at all Alice. I mean you easily kept up with Naruto during our mission while he went at full speed." Sakura gave the blonde boy a glare at the end. Naruto gave a nervous laugh remembering their trek to Suna.

Once they were severed their bowls of ramen Alice tensed a slight bit. Sakura and Shino noticed this but both figured it was because Naruto ordered 8 bowls for his own right off the bat. The lunch was enjoyable enough and Naruto caught up with Shino and Kiba. Sakura also caught up with them and they got to know Alice a little bit better.

{-} {-} {-}

After lunch they parted ways with Kiba and Shino. Naruto left as well saying he had to do some things. "Remember we aren't supposed to train too much for a couple of days Naruto!" Sakura yelled as the Blonde winced a little bit being called out by Sakura before he laughed and said, "I wasn't going to train… Well not too much at any rate. Anyways later!" He then took off faster as Sakura sighed and Alice gave a little giggle.

Sakura was about to go but stopped when Alice grabbed her arm. Looking questioningly at the dark haired girl, Alice answered her question before she asked it. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the hot springs with me…" Alice looked a little nervous as she finished, "Or well you know at least show me the way. I have wanted to try them and I heard girls usually go with others. We won't have to worry about Mr. Super Pervert. I mean Jiraiya-san spying on us since he left the village. I also wished maybe we could talk a little you know about girl things. If you don't want to I would understand." Alice then looked to the side a little embarrassed with being so forthright.

Sakura thought for a second and answered, "Sure I haven't really been to one in a while. Been busy at the hospital or training." Sakura then smiled. She felt happy actually. She thought Alice didn't like her since she didn't usually talk to her even when she was off in the evenings in Suna. Sakura also thought maybe they could become friends. So far Sakura only had Ino as a friend and that relationship was rocky still, since they had that falling out at the academy. Even if they were friends again.

Alice seemed to be thinking about something then she smiled and said, "Thank you Sakura. Do you mind leading the way? Like I said I don't know how to get to them." Sakura then beckoned Alice to follow her and the two headed to the Hot Springs.

{-} {-} {-}

Hinata had changed her mind while she was on her way home and decided she would check up on the others. She didn't want to say anything or let them notice her so she just watched from afar. She was kicking herself for resorting to old ways. She had 'observed' Naruto a lot when they were younger. She stopped when they were given teams and started doing missions. She had even stopped when she had time off. She had gotten over such habits, but she had to know how close this Alice girl and Naruto were. She watched while they ate at Ichiraku's. She got there right when Naruto ordered his first 8 bowls. She stayed hidden and listened as they said their good byes. She then overheard Sakura and Alice planning to go to the Hot springs.

Hinata noticed how Naruto seemed to feel more at ease with Alice and truly smiled when she grabbed his hand. She wasn't going to confront Alice about Naruto until she had a better read on the girl. However, she did actually have to report to her dad now which would take time. She hoped it wouldn't take long for her to talk to him and she would make it to the Hot Springs while Sakura and Alice were still there.

{-} {-} {-}

Sakura and Alice finally made it to the Hot Springs. Sakura Explained how they worked to Alice and the two of them were now getting undressed before heading in. Sakura was caught by surprise when Alice 'exploded' her clothing down to just her underwear. Sakura looked Alice over and had to ask. "Alice what are your clothes made of? I mean it is strange that they burst into smoke and butterflies." Sakura didn't say it but she was a little bit jealous that it seemed Alice's clothing actually made her chest appear smaller.

Alice gave a thoughtful look and said casually, "It is kind of hard to describe Sakura. They sort of just formed on their own." Alice closed her eyes, sighed and seemed to reach a decision with herself about something. "Can you wait a bit before I tell you? I was going to tell you anyways but it is a long story."

Sakura answered, "Okay but you better tell me. I am tired of being out of the loop with my own teammates." Alice frowned and said, "We don't mean to keep you out of the loop… I think you will understand once I tell you."

Sakura smiled and then removed her panties and bra before placing them in the basket. She blushed a little when she noticed Alice looking her over and glancing at her patch of pink pubic hair. "W-w-what is it Alice?" Alice blushed at being caught looking Sakura over but answered her nonetheless. "I didn't mean to be rude or anything I was just curious if you were naturally pink haired. It is not something I have seen before." Sakura actually blushed deeper at this and said, "Well I am as you can see."

Sakura hadn't really been to the Hot Springs before with others and gotten fully naked. She had usually come alone in the past or worn a swimsuit underneath. The pinkette had always wanted to go fully nude with the other girls but she felt they would tease her or something. However she could tell Alice wouldn't do that kind of thing. For one reason the dark haired beauty didn't know many people and she was always polite so she wouldn't join the pack in teasing someone harshly.

Another reason Sakura decided to go in the buff is because there isn't anyone else here. When they first entered the changing room Sakura asked Alice if there were any nearby signatures. Once Alice said there weren't. Sakura told her how some people go in Hot Springs naked and some in swimsuits. Alice said that she wanted to do this trip right and that meant no clothing as far as she thought.

Sakura watched as Alice propped one leg on the bench and leaned over to undo the small suspenders attached to her stockings. Once she had the little suspenders undone on both legs she removed her blue lacy garter belt and sat down to remove her stockings. Sakura's breath hitched a little as she watched. Alice looked up at Sakura and asked her, "Is something wrong Sakura?" Sakura blushed furiously and turned away as she said, "N-n-nothing. Alice-chan sorry. I didn't mean to stare or anything. I just wondered about your stockings. They aren't very common here."

Alice blushed a little bit at Sakura's words. She didn't really have much of problem with being watched while she undressed by other girls. You didn't have much privacy in the Asylum and she also helped the younger girls get dressed at Houndsditch and they asked to watch her so that they could see how a woman dresses.

She was a bit embarrassed at first and asked Bumby for help in this situation. He recommended she do it to help them and herself get more relaxed with their own bodies and being around others. Later she realized it was part of her training so she would be more comfortable with others seeing her in such a manner. However, for some reason it seemed much different with Sakura's embarrassment. Alice gave a small smile and said, "You don't have to be embarrassed Sakura."

Sakura turned and questioned Alice, "Why not?" Alice gave her a confident smile and said, "I can understand being curious. After all I did watch you undress wanting to know if you were natural." Sakura relaxed and smiled in return. She was actually relieved that Alice didn't notice her getting the tiniest bit aroused from the sight. Sakura was shocked enough herself, that she was turned on watching Alice. There was something very sensual about her stockings.

Sakura continued watching as Alice finished removing her black and white stockings and then pulled down her panties revealing a patch of tamed dark pubic hair. Sakura's gaze went up and she saw Alice's decent sized breasts with pink nipples. Sakura looked down at her own small breasts and frowned. Alice saw her frown and said, "I wouldn't worry about your breasts Sakura you are only 15 and I can tell you I wasn't any larger than you at that age."

Sakura felt for once a bit happier and reassured when it came to her chest. Her mother had told her the same thing but moms were like that, saying what they could to comfort their children. Hearing Alice say the same thing made Sakura think maybe her mom was telling the truth. The pink haired girl knew Alice wasn't the largest but she also knew guys found her attractive. She thought Alice had just the right amount of chest anyways.

The two walked out of the changing room and into the Hot Spring area. Alice gazed with awe as she looked at the Hot Springs. It seemed very relaxing and pleasant. Sakura walked in and immediately got in the Hot Springs water. The Pinkette sighed in relief and said to Alice, "Might want to take it slow if you aren't used to Hot Springs. They are hot after all."

Alice took her advice and was thankful to Sakura for it. She knew the water would be hot but she didn't know it would be this hot.

After some time Alice got used to the water and got in completely. She felt relaxed and soothed. She noticed Sakura was now sitting on the little rock island in the middle with just her feet in the water. Alice blushed seeing Sakura's erect nipples from the temperature difference between the water and the air. Sakura looked at Alice and then said, "So Alice what were you going to say to me once we got in?"

Alice came over and got next to Sakura while still in the water and she said, "I decided that since I will probably be working with you and Naruto a lot because I am his summon I should tell you the whole truth. What did Naruto tell you and Kakashi after that bell test?" Alice hopped up on the island next to Sakura and Sakura couldn't help but notice Alice's nipples were also erect from the temperature change.

Sakura took a minuet thinking over everything Naruto had told them that day. "He told us you were from a place far away that Tsunade-sensei allowed only you to discuss the full details of. He told us what he knew of your abilities and how through an accident you are now his summon."

Sakura blushed at that last part. She thought it was a bit kinky to have someone that can call on you whenever they wanted. She knew despite how he sometimes acted Naruto would be the gentleman though and wouldn't abuse such a power too much. Sakura took a breath shaking her head of those thoughts and concluded with, "He also told us he can dismiss you back to the place where he summoned you from here, but not your home. He seemed a little distraught about that part. What does this have to do with your dress though?"

Alice sighed and took a deep breath. "Sakura you have heard me sometimes mention my Wonderland right?" Sakura nodded to her remembering how she did once they were in Suna and her summoning contract was the Wonderland Contract. "Well the best Naruto, Jiraiya and I could come up with is that my Wonderland is like a mindscape except much more… Shall we say 'Alive'? Yah Alive. Anyways Wonderland is my mindscape and I can visit it when I want now." Alice finished and waited a bit letting Sakura take it in.

Sakura's eyes were a lit with wonderment. She knew about mindscapes but she hadn't known you could actually visit one. She thought it was just a figurative representation of everything you knew and such that a trained Yamanaka could traverse. Sakura then asked, "Alice what do you mean by you can visit it when you want now?"

Alice then said, "That is where my story begins. After I tell you my story I will let you ask questions if you want, but also realize Sakura that you can't tell anyone about this." Sakura nodded and gave Alice her undivided attention.

Alice then explained to the Pink haired girl about her imagination she had when she was young, and how she created Wonderland so she would have friends to visit, since she didn't get out of her house much growing up. She told Sakura all about her sister and the night when her house and family burned. Alice described a little bit about what happened at Rutledge Asylum. The dark haired girl didn't go into detail about the treatments and cures she went through there. She simply said it was kind of like an intense Torture and Interrogation session at times.

Sakura winced hearing this, she had to go in and heal prisoners sometimes after a session to make sure they were still alive. It really made her sick to her stomach before she got used to it.

Alice kept going explaining how Wonderland changed and she was dragged back there while in a coma. Alice explained how she eventually got better after saving her own sanity in Wonderland. Alice told Sakura about her relapse and how she was unknowingly trained to be a prostitute. She explained how she finally, during the course of her relapse, discovered the truth behind the fire.

Sakura stared at Alice not sure what to say to it all. Alice looked at Sakura a little nervous and said to her, "I am ok now. Things are a lot better since I was summoned here from a different world by Naruto." Alice was looking into the water of the hot spring about to jump in and draw herself out of the unpleasant memories.

Suddenly, she felt two hands grab her in a tight hug and heard Sakura crying on her shoulder. The pink haired girl said through her tears, "I am sorry that I may have seemed to not like you at first. I just felt left out. I knew Naruto for a long time, but when he came back he was different, still Naruto but different. Then I had no idea who you were and you seemed to know him better than I did. I was kind of jealous of you. Had I known what all you had been through I wouldn't have been. No one should have gone through what you have." Sakura hoped Alice didn't think she pitied her. Sakura then asked, "Can we be friends Alice-chan?"

Alice tried to keep up a brave front but soon she found herself hugging Sakura back and she cried just a little bit. She was happy that Sakura wanted to be her friend even after hearing everything she went through. Alice then said softly, "Yes, Sakura-chan I would like that." Sakura then hugged her tighter before the two released their hug and got into the water.

They sat right by each other in the water and Alice then giggled. Sakura looked at her questioningly. Alice then said, "Sorry I just forgot to tell you how all of that relates to my dress." Sakura then giggled with her before asking, "Well how does it then?"

Alice smiled and answered, "Well on my trip to Wonderland during my relapse my dress changed in each area I went to. Some of the dresses had different abilities and I figured out how to change them when I want. You see this world here has a similar feel to Wonderland. There is energy all over. This being the case I found out during my trip with Jiraiya that I can take my clothes off normally but then I might lose them or something. I found out if I 'explode' my clothes then I can summon them right back at will, except for my undergarments. I can also choose any of my Wonderland dresses to wear. I usually go with my blue one but you also saw my Silk maiden dress. I have others as well but I haven't tried them on yet."

Sakura thought about that and smiled as she said, "Kami Alice I wish I could do that. Wouldn't have to worry about my training clothes turning to rags and falling apart. Or would I? Does your dress take damage?"

Alice looked up to the sky and said, "It does. I tested that with Cheshire. He came here with me when I was summoned by Naruto. He went and did his own thing to figure out what he could of this world and when I met him again we sparred and he proved he could help me in fights here. I chose to also test if my clothes took damage or not. They do. But once I summon them again the damage is restored."

Sakura smiled bigger and said, "Definitely wish I could do that then." Sakura looked to her side and saw Alice raise her arms up and stretch, her chest sticking out. Sakura gave a little bit of a wicked smile and then she tackled Alice from behind and grabbed the dark haired girl's breasts. Alice gasped in surprise and asked, "S-S-Sakura-chan what are you doing?" Alice blushed and gave a little 'eep' when Sakura said softly, "Well we are friends now and Kunoichi have to be comfortable with their bodies so we do skin ship gropes and sometimes more." Alice breathed hard not sure what to do and then let out a little moan as Sakura continued touching her body.

Sakura blushed hearing Alice's sensual moan. The pink haired girl was a little proud that she got Alice to do that and she continued moving her hands all over Alice's body even accidentally between her legs feeling her soft patch. Alice's breath hitched as Sakura kept going. Sakura then felt her fingers slip inside Alice who let out a very sensual moan. Sakura stopped when she realized she might have gone too far.

Alice's breath finally evened out and then she looked at Sakura and gave her a look. "heh heh… I didn't mean to get carried away Alice-chan." Alice then gave her a wicked smile and slowly approached Sakura. The pink haired girl backed up a bit and braced herself.

Alice then lunged at her and managed to capture her as Sakura turned around and was about to make a break for it. Alice's hands roamed around Sakura's body in return. Alice seemed to focus on Sakura's pink nipples and she tweaked them a little bit. Sakura moaned in response as Alice continued exploring her body. Alice too found Sakura's patch of pink pubic hair and after a little more touching Alice heard Sakura breathing hard. Alice then slid a hand down Sakura's back side and rubbed her butt but stopped thinking she might have gone too far getting carried away. Sakura turned to Alice with flushed cheeks, breathing hard and gave the older girl a look.

Alice blushed a little and said, "I was only returning the favor. I didn't go too far did I? I am sorry Sakura-chan if I did." Alice gave a worried frown and Sakura gave a smile and said, "No, you didn't. In fact, some might say you didn't go far enough. Alice-chan" Alice blushed hearing that. She then curiously wondered, "Should we go again?" Sakura blushed and said, "No don't worry about it! I was just saying. Some Shinobi and Kunoichi move real fast and more or less take sex in any form they can get it."

"I suppose I can understand. Though I am not proud of it, when I was at the asylum I did sometimes use self-pleasure as a coping mechanism. I wonder though. What was it like growing up and learning to be a Kunoichi in the academy Sakura-chan?" Alice blushed at the self-pleasure part.

Sakura was actually a little surprised when she saw how eagerly Alice was listening to her and saw Alice's vivid green eyes shining with curiosity. Sakura answered, "Well we took most of the same classes the guys took. However, we each had separate classes later in the day. Kunoichi took classes that allowed us to embrace our femininity while also being useful. We also had special classes…" Sakura blushed here remembering their special classes. "In these special classes we kind of got more familiar with our bodies in a physical manner. We even on some occasions brought each other to orgasm…"

Alice gasped in surprise but kept listening as Sakura blushed and continued, "It was optional. It wasn't forced. But I took it because… well things can happen on missions where a girl is taken hostage and used by her captors. This doesn't always happen and only the vilest of ninja enjoy this method. It is done as a way to break the enemy Kunoichi and get information from her. Usually, other methods are used since the process is long and she may just end her own life but it is still a possibility."

Alice regained her composure and said, "I'm only surprised you were taught about such things at a young age. I know how horrible the things people do to each other can be. But still…"

Sakura decided to clarify more, "It actually was done in an enjoyable manner. And mostly the class was about getting comfortable with your own body and learning everything about it. Knowing stuff like that is important. Also after we graduated all girls that made Kunoichi are given a seal designed in the past to prevent accidental pregnancies while at the same time allowing us to grow up healthy. I don't know how it actually works but I know it does work. There were other classes that I wish I had taken but thought useless at the time. Which brings me to a question Alice, if you don't mind my asking?" Sakura looked away a bit embarrassed.

Alice raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is it Sakura? I think considering what we just did you can ask me almost anything." Alice gave a little giggle and Sakura blushed remembering what they were just doing. The pink haired girl was also happy to notice the two of them were more comfortable around each other as a result.

"I was wondering if you… Could give me the training you got from that man…" Sakura looked nervously at Alice who seemed almost mortified.

Sakura continued, "Seduction is actually very important for a Kunoichi. When we are less experienced and so are our enemies Kunoichi have this naturally, but as we get more experienced it gets harder. I didn't think it important at the time but now I know differently. We use it to distract opponents sometimes or to lead an enemy into a trap. In some cases, a Kunoichi will actually work at a brothel in enemy territory."

Sakura saw Alice looked even more mortified hearing this. Sakura put Alice at ease, "Konoha doesn't do things like that fortunately. Despite his pervertedness Jiraiya-san is our master spy and set up a network far reaching enough we don't have to resort to such things. It is usually smaller villages that do such things." Alice then said, "I know about that. I just am surprised it isn't the norm in this world. Jiraiya's method that is."

Sakura sighed in an exasperated manner as she said, "He seems to enjoy it lot. He doesn't complain about having to meet up with his contacts in those places. He does the whole thing very well." Sakura gave a smile. "Part of the reason why Tsunade-sensei doesn't like his perverted antics is because she knows damn well he can be very charming and good with women when he wants to be." Alice looked confused which caused Sakura to giggle. "He really is actually pretty well known and not just because of his books. He is a living legend of Konoha."

Alice shook her head and said, "He could have said that when he introduced himself instead of saying he is the number one proud super pervert." Sakura giggled and then got back to the topic, "Anyways, before we got off track I was asking if you could give me the lessons you got from then. If it's too hard you don't have to. I just noticed how natural you were in that respect and figured after hearing your story you are because of that training."

Alice sighed dejectedly and asked aloud, "Why does everyone want me to teach lessons…" Sakura wondered and asked, "You don't have to I was just asking but what do you mean?"

Alice answered looking at Sakura, "My landlord asked me to give his daughter etiquette lessons. Since they are some of the few people that treat Naruto well. I agreed to when I had time." Alice then placed a finger to her lips and said, "hmmm… I guess I will give her a lesson sometime before our next mission." She then looked at the pink haired girl for a few minutes. "Okay Sakura if you really want me to give you lessons of the nature Bumby gave me, because you think it will help you be a better Kunoichi I guess I will."

Sakura smiled and couldn't help but give Alice a hug. Alice returned it and the two stayed like that for a bit before breaking apart. Sakura blushed and said, "Sorry if I seem to friendly or anything it is just I haven't ever had many friends. In fact, I would say Ino Yamanaka is the closest I have to a female friend. And we used to hate each other's guts for liking the same boy."

Alice frowned she had an idea but asked anyways, "Who is or was it?"

Sakura answered not noticing Alice's look. "Sasuke Uchiha. Of course most of the girls chased after him." Sakura noticed it got a little colder and asked, "Did it just get a little cold in here? Anyways that was before he turned traitor and all of that."

"And now what do you think of him?" Alice asked trying to remain calm.

Sakura looked down and a little hurt. "I still care about him. I want to believe there is still good in him. I think I might still love him but I am not going to go chasing after him like I did when I was younger. I want him back because it is just like Kakashi-sensei said. 'Those who don't follow the rules are scum. However, those who abandon their teammates and friends are lower than scum.' He told us that when we first became a team."

The cold disappeared and Alice's eyes were wide and she looked at Sakura who was holding her knees to her chest. Alice leaned over and gave Sakura another hug which caught Sakura off guard. Sakura's eye widened a little bit at the emotions she felt flowing through the hug she also felt odd, different somehow in this hug than the last two they had. Alice then said in a soft voice, "I will try to help the best I can to bring him back."

Alice then sat back and said, "I don't like Sasuke because of what he did to Naruto. I personally thought something was wrong with Naruto for still calling him a friend. Now however I can understand why. Naruto didn't tell me Kakashi-sensei said that to you all."

Sakura for some reason felt more reassured that maybe there was still hope for Sasuke. Alice then said, "I still don't like the guy and would rather kill him but I know Naruto wouldn't like me doing that." Alice then looked down and said, "I can't stand the thought of Naruto hating me for some reason."

Sakura gave a mischievous smile and said to Alice teasingly, "Oh? I knew there was something going on there. Tell me about it."

Alice blushed and said, "I don't think there is anything going on but I hope there will be. I don't know anything about this sort of stuff. I know it isn't because he can summon me, that causes me to want him to like me though. However, I feel he can get anyone he wants. I feel like he only puts up with me sometimes because he feels responsible. That somehow it is his entire fault I am here."

Sakura gave Alice a look. "I'm still sure there is something going on between you two. I think it might be harder for you to see it because Naruto isn't really used to those kinds of things either." She saw Alice's concerned face and couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Naruto is going to feel responsible for you being here but he isn't going to let it define if you two have a relationship or not. Besides I am pretty sure he is worried you are only tolerating him since he sum-mphm" Alice placed a hand over Sakura's mouth and Sakura looked to see the girl had a serious face.

The pinkette was wondering what was going on when she heard Alice say aloud. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Sakura then heard a voice she recognized speak up. "I just want to talk to you about Naruto-kun." Hinata stepped out from the changing room clutching a towel over her swimsuit with a serious expression. Sakura frowned and knew things might get messy.

* * *

A/N: Sorry I know cliffy. I hope peopled don't think I'm making Alice too open or anything. The way I figured it she was with Bumby for a year before her return to Wonderland, unaware of his true motives. It seemed to me he wasn't going to use her as a normal prostitute, so I figured he gave her through training in what he believed a 'proper' woman would be like in society.

I also think Alice feels more secure with herself now after everything, so she would be more open to things. Especially, in making friends with other girls, she didn't have many so she feels that some things, others see as ify are normal.

I figured she would be naturally sexy the way she attracts a lot of attention in Madness Returns from bystanders but at the same time usually very classy especially in public. But she has different ideas about privacy since she didn't have much of any while she was at the asylum. As a result she will be very open to things with the girls she becomes friends with in the story. Also don't worry; the more sexual things like in this chapter won't become the focus of this story and usually there will be reasons for them happening.


	12. Hot Springs Showdown!

Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

_Name no jutsu__: this is for jutsus obviously no breaks for them if they are mentioned in flashbacks they will appear as so: _name no jutsu, or the English names.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: Warning Girl fight with Jiraiya approved fan service!

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Chapter 12: Hot Springs Showdown!

Hinata sighed as she finally finished meeting with her father. The news wasn't unexpected but it wasn't something she wanted to hear. She knew this would happen and knew she would have to make this choice. The thing that surprised her the most was she had already known the choice she would make. Hinata really did need that trip to the Hot Springs now. However she wouldn't let it distract her. She had something to take care of if they were still there.

Hinata grabbed her swimsuit from her room and double checked her gear. She was about to leave when Hanabi spoke to her, "Onee-chan where are you going?" Hinata looked at her sister and said, "I am going to the Hot Springs. I would ask if you wanted to come as well Hanabi-chan, but there is something I have to do there." Hanabi looked a little depressed but Hinata gave her a smile and said, "I will make it up to you another time alright Hanabi-chan?" Hanabi gave a little smile and nodded her head.

Hinata thought back to how things had changed for her with her family. Her dad had given up on her, but once she spoke up and finally voiced her frustrations at him after her second Chunin exams. He told her to prove to him she wasn't a failure. She thought about Naruto and the others in her life and for once didn't let his words get to her. After that she sparred with him and showed how she had been improving their juken. Once she showed her own move and it broke through his rotation he admitted that he was wrong to have dismissed her so easily.

After that he had her face Neji again. She faced him and managed to also use her own move to break through his rotation. Once the match was over her father told her that it was more of a test to see if she could actually stand up for herself more than just once. Her father was still distant at first, but started working with her instead of constantly telling her she was a failure after the match. When some time had passed and she shared with him her views on the clan he started to support her more and decided she would keep her position as clan heiress. He had told her it would be a hard battle for many different reasons, but if she remained strong she might be able to change their clan for the better.

Her younger sister Hanabi was actually happy she didn't have to be the clan heiress anymore. The youngest daughter would have done it and probably done a good job, but Hanabi knew that Hinata was tougher than she appeared and wouldn't put up with the elders' idiocy once she was in the position. Hinata had continued showing the Elders there wasn't anything they could hold against her. They challenged her whenever they could but she proved she could meet their challenges and succeed. At first it was tough, but as time went on it got easier to prove to them she wasn't weak like they thought.

There still was one thing they could hold against her and they were planning to use it against her in the next council meeting, hoping to catch her off guard or force her hand. Hiashi overheard their plans and thought it was a very dirty trick and it reminded him too much of how they had tried to keep him from marrying his wife. He was forced to show his hand and since then they had continued to try and strong arm their way whenever they wanted something.

Hiashi hearing their plots decided he would do the right thing and tell Hinata what she would unfortunately have to do. After hearing this Hinata had made her choice regarding the issue. She was now figuring out the right way to phrase it once she gave her answer to the elder council during her allotted speaking time at the beginning of the next meeting. She was going to show them their opinions were not a factor anymore and that she would do what she knew was best for the clan.

Hinata stood up and said to one of the branch members, "I am going to spend some time at the Hot Springs. I do not need nor want an escort. I will be back in time for dinner." The branch member, a woman, bowed her head and said, "Yes Hinata-sama I will tell your father immediately." Hinata frowned and said, "I have told you before Kurumi you don't have to use -sama." Kurumi bowed and said, "Yes you have Hinata-chan but I still wish to most of the time refer to you properly." She bowed and then left.

Hinata sighed as she left. That was one of the things she wished to change in the future to bring the family together again. Families shouldn't treat each other so coldly. She shook her head and focused as she headed to the Hot Springs.

Once she arrived and proceeded to the changing room she slipped out of her clothes and into her swimsuit in case things got out of hand. The second she heard a strong voice say "Who are you and what do you want?" Hinata was actually surprised. Few ninja were that good at detecting people without the aid of a bloodline limit ability like the Byakugan. Hinata schooled her features and passed under the flap

{-} {-} {-}

Hinata saw a naked Alice covering the mouth of an equally naked Sakura. Hinata caught a glimpse of the sight through the mist and blushed before turning serious. She clutched the towel she was wearing over her swimsuit and said calmly, "I just wanted to talk to you about Naruto-kun." Hinata then noticed Sakura frown. Hinata guessed this meant things would get messy. She didn't care she was ready. This would be best anyways; she figured she could see if Alice was strong enough to fight by Naruto's side.

Alice's vivid green eyes narrowed and she stood up facing Hinata not bothering to cover herself. Alice then said evenly, "Is that so?" Hinata returned her gaze and said, "Yes."

"Why now and alone then?" Alice said accusingly. Sakura gave Alice a questioning look. Alice kept looking at Hinata. Alice wasn't too sure about this girl but she had a feeling she might be one of the ignorant people that didn't see Naruto for who he was, since most of the people seemed to be like that. Hinata looked confused and asked, "What do you mean?"

Alice kept staring, her green eyes making Hinata a little nervous as she said, "Hinata Hyuga." Hinata's eyes widened she didn't think Alice would know her name. Alice continued, "I know you were hiding behind that wall when we met with Kiba and Shino." Hinata's eyes widened a little more. Alice's gaze didn't leave Hinata for a second. "I also know you watched us while we ate at Ichiraku's!"

Sakura turned to Hinata not sure what to think. When she saw Hinata tighten her fist the pinkette hoped Hinata wasn't becoming a stalker again. Most of the girls knew about her crush on Naruto and also that Hinata liked to watch him from afar.

Alice wasn't finished yet though, "I thought we might run into you here when I noticed you left after hearing Sakura-chan and I talking about going to the Hot Springs." Both Hinata and Sakura were surprised to hear this. Hinata knew she wasn't easy to detect especially when she didn't want to be noticed. _"Well at least I know she pays attention to what goes on around her and him."_ Hinata thought to herself. Sakura was impressed that Alice only gave the smallest signs she noticed something, and that was only after observing in hind sight.

Hinata got ready. She would play the 'bad guy' here some. She wanted to know if Alice was strong enough to help Naruto or not. She would let Alice fill in her own blanks for the time being. "Well since you seem to know why I am here. Why don't we settle this with a fight? Not aiming to kill though, that would be bad for the village."

Sakura's eyes widened this wasn't going to be good. She was about to say something when Alice beat her to the punch. "Alright… Let's go!" Hinata got ready. Alice did as well. Sakura panicked, she had just made friends with Alice and she knew Hinata was a good person. She didn't want them fighting even if they weren't aiming to kill.

Alice threw several cards at Hinata. Hinata jumped to the roof surprised that Alice had weapons on her without even wearing any gear. Hinata was ready. Alice jumped up and stood opposite of Hinata on the roof of the Hot Springs changing house still wearing nothing. Hinata decided to play her role a bit and smirked as she said, "Oh? Sure you want to fight me naked Alice?"

Alice blushed a little as Hinata charged her. Alice triple jumped away and landed in a clearing away from the bath house. Hinata soon landed across form her. A few seconds later Sakura joined them with just her towel tied around her body. She wanted to step in but knew deep down this was probably something that had to happen.

Hinata then smiled and said, "Still brave enough to fight me naked. Or are you just being foolish?" Alice looked at her opponent and summoned her blue dress. Alice stood there in her blue dress, and while without any of her undergarments on, she was ready. Alice gave a falsely sweet smile as she said to Hinata, "Just like my weapons my dress is always on hand. Whether you or anyone else wishes to fight Naruto or me. I am always ready."

Hinata was actually impressed with the display and knew from her words Alice cared for Naruto. But still there was more to go. Hinata narrowed her eyes and said, "So it seems. But it matters not." Hinata then threw several shuriken at Alice and charged her. Hianta's eyes widened when she saw Alice pull out an umbrella and deflect all of the projectiles with ease. Hinata dodged and attacked with her fists. Alice managed to block and then tried to counter.

Alice didn't have much practice with Taijutsu though. So Hinata easily blocked and threw a kick at Alice sending her back a small amount. Alice jumped back and threw a couple of cards, which Hinata dodged. However it gave Alice enough time to dash in and send a kick at Hinata causing the blue haired girl to skid back.

Hinata smiled and said, "Not half bad Alice. However I am not done yet." Hinata shouted, "Byakugan!" Alice looked at her questioningly. Sakura was about to interfere thinking this was about to get too serious. Before she could do anything though, Hinata and Alice charged each other. Hinata took the juken stance and managed to land a few hits on Alice.

Alice grunted in pain as she jumped back. Hinata said seriously, "You are lucky I don't wish to harm you too much. I could have shut off your chakra points." Alice put her hand out and a strange looking weapon appeared in her hands. It was like a toy horse except all black with fiery red eyes and nostrils.

Sakura gasped and asked, "Is that the…?" Before she could finish Alice answered her, "No. This is just my level three Hobby horse. I am not trying to kill remember? I am not even using my level four, let alone my Knightmare." Sakura didn't like this despite Alice's attempt at reassuring her she wasn't going overboard. Sakura wasn't sure if she actually knew much about holding back.

Hinata charged at Alice saying "It doesn't matter." She threw a few shuriken and ran at Alice throwing punches. Alice dodged them; however one managed to come close and fast enough it cut part of Alice's dress. Alice jumped back and ran in swinging the Hobby Horse around like it weighed nothing.

Hinata dodged the attack. However the speed form the weapon managed to cut part of her swimsuit. Hinata ignored that and attacked right away with a few punches. Alice got hit by one but dodged the other one. The second hit though managed to cut away part of Alice's dress exposing one of her breasts.

Hinata smiled and said, "It seems I may get you naked once again. No wonder wearing such a dress. I am surprised it has survived for so long." Hinata didn't like embarrassing Alice like this by cutting away her dress. Hinata actually thought the dress was pretty.

Alice stared and said, "It seems not having my underwear on has made it less stable or something. Curious indeed if that is the case. However I don't want to hear about proper battle attire from a girl wearing only a swimsuit to fight. No doubt you are not in your normal battle attire either."

Hinata's façade broke a bit; the girl had a point really. Alice then said, "But as you said earlier it matters not." Alice zoomed in again and she seemed more focused now. The green eyed beauty swung her hobby horse. Hinata dodged thinking this was going to be a repeat. However, Alice swung again faster a second time and managed to launch Hinata in the air.

The blue haired girl managed to lessen the force by blocking but she still felt it. Alice then appeared in the air and swung again. Hinata dodged but her swimsuit took more damage. They landed back on the ground, both of them breathing a little heavily.

Alice then threw three cards at Hinata. Hinata shouted, "Rotation!" And she was encased in a blue swirling sphere of chakra that deflected the cards. When Hinata finished she saw an astonished Sakura and Alice seemed to be analyzing something. Alice threw more cards again and Hinata used rotation again.

Alice seemed to have figured something out as Hinata said, "I will just blow back anything you throw at me. I learned Rotation finally and can use it really well." Alice Charged and Hinata waited and used rotation. Even Sakura wondered why Alice charged her. Both were surprised when Alice turned into smoke and Butterflies before appearing again inside the rotation and kicking Hinata hard throwing the Hyuga Heiress off balance.

Alice smirked as she was blown back by the dissipating chakra and saw the look of shock on Hinata's face. Hinata hardened her face quickly though. She wanted to see how Alice responded to that jutsu. She had a lot of control over it and could stop it if the girl looked like she was going to do something too dangerous.

Alice rushed at the Heiress again. Hinata shouted, "Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Sakura gasped hearing Hinata's shout. The pink haired girl didn't think it was going to be this bad, but there wasn't anything she could do in time though. Alice Butterflied to the left and threw six cards at Hinata when she saw they were cut into small pieces instead of being blown back she jumped back thinking what to do about this.

Alice made her decision and was about to make her move when Hinata used the same move again. Soon Alice jumped back just in time as a giant boulder landed in front of her. Sakura had decided enough was enough.

"Stop this! Both of you!" Sakura shouted from the sidelines still in just her towel. The two Kunoichi were facing each other not attacking but still not lowering their guard. "Look at yourselves!" Sakura continued.

Hinata's swimsuit was in tatters, exposing parts of her skin underneath. She was missing a strap, her right boob shown for the entire world to see. There was also a cut to the fabric near her most sensitive part showing some of her dark blue pubic hair. Hinata blushed and covered herself. There was a reason swimsuits weren't used for fighting after all. Hinata also had minor scrapes and dirt smudges covering her sweaty body. Her hair was disheveled as well.

Alice still had her breasts exposed and her skirt was cut pretty bad, giving anyone nearby a glimpse of her dark rich pubic hair and her most private place. Alice also blushed and covered herself as well on instinct. Alice had more tears in her dress, small cuts and dirt smudges along with sweat covering her body, somehow though Alice's hair wasn't disheveled.

"We're lucky no one is here today. Especially someone like Jiraiya." Sakura said. Alice blushed darker knowing that Jiraiya would have used this in his next book regardless if Alice hit him with the Knightmare again or not.

Somewhere far away a white haired pervert sneezed. _"There must be something incredibly sexy and hot going on somewhere. Too bad I missed it."_ The man thought to himself.

Sakura sighed knowing she had their attention now. "Alice. Hinata doesn't hate Naruto. Hinata cares a lot for him." Alice looked confused and asked, "Why did she hide from him then?"

Hinata answered, "When it comes to Naruto-kun I get very shy and usually end up passing out." Alice wasn't sure what to think about that but it sounds very unfortunate.

Sakura continued, "Hinata. Alice is strong and capable. In fact, one reason why this fight went on as long as it did is because she didn't even bother to use her primary weapon, and she went easy on you. Not wanting to kill you."

Hinata glared and said, "I was going easy on her as well you know." Alice then butterflied over to Hinata and before Hinata would have even been able to react had she been ready she felt a blade right on her neck. Alice then butterflied back further away from Hinata. Hinata gulped and stared at the dark haired girl.

Sakura shook her head and said, "Alice… That wasn't necessary." Alice said flatly. "I didn't want her to doubt my skills. She is strong but since it seems she wanted to see if I was capable or not. I decided to give her a demonstration." Alice could have sworn she heard Cheshire laughing from somewhere at her statement.

Sakura shook her head again but gave a little smile it was definitely the Alice response to such a thing. "We should head back to the Hot Springs. I need to soak and relax a little more now that you two are done fighting." The three then headed back to the springs following Sakura's lead.

{-} {-} {-}

Far away in a training ground unaware of the fight two beautiful Kunoichi had over him Naruto was training. He gave a cheer as he figured out a breakthrough in his nature transformation jutsu training. He also shouted aloud a few seconds later as a couple of clones dispersed and he was able to successfully use two new wind style jutsus. His remaining 17 clones, he considered 25 to be light training while he did psychical exercises, Cheered as well.

Naruto was about to summon Alice in his excitement and tell her all about it. He was about to finish the hand signs when he remembered what happened last time he summoned her on a whim like that. He had her permission to summon her whenever, but he decided to wait and tell her tonight, since she was right next door to him more or less.

{-} {-} {-}

Fortunately the three girls still had the place to their selves when they got back. Hinata was now laying naked on the edge of the hot spring relaxing while Sakura healed the small scrapes and bruises she got from her fight with Alice. Sakura didn't want the Hyuga clan to freak out when their Heiress came back from the Hot Springs hurt even if only a little bit.

After a couple of minutes in silence, Hinata was healed up. Sakura let out a breath and relaxed for a couple of seconds before breaking the silence. "Alright Alice-chan. Your turn. Get over here and let me heal you." Alice did as commanded and was glad, it seemed Sakura wasn't too angry at her for making such a fuss earlier.

Alice laid on her front as Sakura's glowing green hands started healing her. Alice looked to Hinata who was now enjoying the warm waters and said, "I am sorry Hinata. I should have listened to you instead of jumping to conclusions like that. I am a bit rash at times."

Hinata smiled and said, "No worries Alice-chan. I would have wanted to fight you anyways to see if you were worthy of Naruto-kun or not."

Sakura said in a soft voice, "You really do love him don't you Hinata-chan?"

Hinata smiled sadly and answered, "Yes I do. The hardest part of loving someone and wanting them to be happy though, is letting go of your feelings knowing you aren't what they want or need."

Alice looked at Hinata in thought. Hinata turned to Alice and said, "Alice-chan. I think you are what Naruto wants and needs, even if you two aren't sure yourselves. I had my chance but didn't take it. I also had to make a decision today. It should have been the hardest choice I ever made, but I was surprised how easy it was and knew I had already made the choice a while back."

Alice wondered and asked the blue haired girl, "What was that choice Hinata-chan?" Alice figured it was ok to use the suffix since Hinata used it for her.

Hinata looked at the wall across form her saddened. "I chose to give up on my love for Naruto. It is the best for my clan and for him." Hinata frowned to herself. Sakura looked shocked and asked, "How? How is that the best? What about yourself Hinata?"

Hinata continued, "My clan won't let me be with him and still be Heiress. It is the only thing they could actually use to keep me from becoming Clan Head. I could fight for being with him and I would, but Naruto wants to be Hokage. I can't have a husband that is in a position to undermine me in the clan. I know Naruto never would but he would be able to overrule anything I say, whether he used that ability or not it wouldn't matter." Hinata sighed it still hurt to have to give up even if it would be for the best.

"I also know he will have several people against him becoming Hokage when the time comes for whatever the reason is so many people hate him. If I am clan Head of the Hyuga I can do a lot to support and help him. The Hyuga are a powerful clan. There are things I want to change about my clan as well. My sister thinks along the same way I do, but the Elders in our clan would have too much power over her since they have never fought her becoming clan head. They could threaten her position at every turn and she wouldn't know how to respond having never faced them before. They can't really do that with me and if they try I will already be prepared and experienced." Hinata let out a slow breath.

Sakura and Alice both understood where the girl was coming from now. What she said made sense even if it was sad.

Hinata continued, "Before I came here my farther told me I was going to have to decide between my love for Naruto and my title as clan heiress before the next clan meeting. I have some time to figure out how to phrase my choice to them in a way they will know I made choice on my own and before they even bring it up. It was tough but I thought what Naruto would have said if I told him this." She smiled sadly as she thought of Naruto's response.

"He would have been angry at me for giving up my dream, even if we did have something going on between us. I chose my clan so that I can also help him out as well. I will always love him in some way. It will be hard to move on but I will move on. I want my home and family to be happy, my whole family that is. I need to find happiness myself for that to happen along with other things, so I will learn to move on and find another love, even though it won't be in the same way." Hinata then gave a half-hearted smile as she finished, "Hopefully I will also be able to start talking to him without fainting and at least be a friend of his."

Alice had mixed feelings about this. She was sad for Hinata having to give up her love for Naruto. Alice was also happy that she wouldn't have to worry about Hinata becoming a rival for love though. Alice smiled and said softly, "You really are strong Hinata and you are also kind. I think you will make your dreams come true. It will be good for Naruto to have you as a good friend and ally when the time comes. This village's misguided hatred is ridiculous. Really Akatsuki is more than enough of a pain to deal with."

Sakura was now giving Alice a massage. She noticed the girl's muscles were very tense and need to be relaxed and her healer instincts kicked in, plus she kind of liked it. However Hinata's question stopped her. "What is Akatsuki and what do they have to do with Naruto-kun?"

Sakura and Alice looked at each other. They weren't told to keep quiet about the group or anything, so they thought all of the ninjas in Konoha knew about the group.

Alice decided to answer truthfully, "They are a group of S-class missing ninjas. They are doing things that might start another war. They are also after Naruto for some reason." Alice made sure to leave out the reason, knowing it at least was for sure was a secret.

Sakura didn't see any reason to stop Alice speaking. Sakura wasn't the smartest Kunoichi for nothing, she knew eventually everyone in Konoha would be pulled into this mess at some point. She only hoped it would be later rather than sooner.

Hinata looked about to panic as she said, "What?! Why? Is anything being done about them? Naruto won't have to take them on alone will he?"

Sakura tried to soothe Hinata's worries. "Calm down Hinata. Naruto doesn't have to face them alone. He has Alice and me there for him. Hokage-sama is also doing what she can to help out as well."

Hinata wasn't calming down. Alice added her two cents, "We have already faced them before. Naruto and I forced their spy master to retreat. Sakura and an ally also killed one." Sakura added more, "Yah also Alice and Naruto killed one of them as well."

Hinata then said, "But you two aren't with him right now… What if something happens to him and you two aren't there to help him? What then?"

Sakura leaned down and looked Alice in the eyes. The two Green-eyed girls looked at each other for a second before Alice gave a nod and Sakura looked over to a barely emotionally restrained Hinata.

Sakura spoke, "Hinata can you keep a secret for us? You can't tell anyone; not your clan, not your teammates, not even Kurenai-sensei." Hinata nodded and said, "Of course I can."

Alice then sighed and Sakura continued. "Alice-chan here isn't just a new Kunoichi for Konoha. She is also Naruto's Summon." Hinata stared not sure what to make of hearing that. "What do you mean?" She asked for clarification.

Alice turned to look at her and said, "I met Jiraiya and Naruto while they were on their training trip. Due to an accident I am now Naruto's summon. He can call on me whenever he wants. We have some rules to avoid more embarrassing incidents from happening, but I told him if he needs my help none of our rules matter."

Hinata still found it hard to believe, but she knew they were telling the truth. Sakura gasped suddenly realizing something. She then voiced her concern "Are you sure we should have come here then? I mean… He has seen you in your underwear before but never naked."

Alice simply said, "Oh." Before adding, "I didn't think about that. But he said he was going to train and though he can summon me whenever and wherever. He wouldn't abuse such a power... I don't think at least." Sakura still wasn't sure.

Alice continued, "Besides he is doing 'light' training despite being told to relax for a couple of days. If he comes up with any breakthroughs I am sure he will wait to tell me tonight."

"Why would he tell you tonight?" Hinata asked.

"Because they live in the same apartment complex." Sakura answered and then gave a teasing giggle and said, "He even has the key to her room." Alice simply blushed as Sakura finished giving her a message and the two joined Hinata in the water.

Hinata blushed too; some of her old dreams came to mind. She blushed more and shook her head to clear away those dreams. She felt like she was a voyeur or something because she thought about Alice and Naruto doing things. She then asked Alice a question hoping it would keep her mind from those thoughts. "How are you sure he will probably show up anyways?"

Alice stretched and said, "He will probably be by for supper. I doubt he has had time to shop for food."

Sakura gave Alice a teasing look and said, "He already does stop by for breakfast I hear."

Alice blushed again and Sakura said to Hinata, "He was late to one of our team meetings because he visited her for breakfast."

Hinata tried to join in on the teasing, hoping to keep from dwelling on the fact she wouldn't be the one to ever cook for him. "Wow Alice. What kind of breakfast did you give him? Was it extra _special_?" Hinata placed extra emphasis on the word 'special'.

Alice looked scandalized and said, "I would never do something like that so soon after getting to know someone."

Hinata giggled and said, "I just asked if it was special. I wasn't meaning anything perverted."

Sakura giggled and said, "I think Ero-sannin rubbed off on you Alice. Jumping to such conclusions so quickly."

Alice sighed and said, "It was just a normal breakfast… You two were the ones that hinted at it being something more."

Sakura and Hinata both laughed at this. Alice gave a wicked smile and said, "Besides, can you really accuse me of such things as being perverted Sakura-chan when you are the one that asked me to give you personal seduction training?"

It was Sakura's turn to blush as Hinata and Alice shared a laugh. The three Kunoichi became good friends by the time Hinata left to get home in time for supper. Shortly after, Alice and Sakura decided they should get ready to leave as well.

{-} {-} {-}

Once Sakura and Alice were in the changing room, Alice asked Sakura if she wanted to join her for supper. "Thanks for the invite Alice, but I should get home. My parents will want to hear all about my mission, or well what I can tell them about it at least. Can we make arrangements another time?" Sakura asked as she pulled her panties on.

Alice finished snapping her stockings and said, "Sorry I didn't think about that. Yes another time hopefully and we will have to figure out something to do about your seduction training as well Sakura." Alice was a little sad Sakura wouldn't be coming over for supper this time. She always wanted to have friends over for supper. She loved cooking for Naruto and liked Naruto a lot, but Alice also wanted to actually have a few close friends outside of Wonderland now that she had the chance.

Sakura held a thoughtful expression for a bit when suddenly she heard a deep baritone voice speak up. "Alice? Are you teaching your 'craft' to others now? I guess it is good to see that you are taking what happened to you in the past with good enough grace to realize you can use it to your advantage."

Sakura eeped as she saw the skeletal cat appear on top of one of the shelves in the changing room. She knew who it was, he matched Alice's description perfectly, but still even her imagination paled in comparison to his actual appearance. Sakura was just grateful she was at least in her underwear.

Alice brightened up and gave a smile as she said, "Cheshire! I was actually about to summon you. It is good to see you again. In response to what you said, well you know me I make toys into dangerous weapons. Using things to my advantage is what I do."

Cheshire gave a rumbling chuckle as he said, "That is one of the wonderful things about you Alice I can always expect some sort of wit. Yes you are indeed very resourceful. I am glad though to see you are making friends that you are comfortable enough to tell about your past and offer to train them, though."

Sakura quickly put on her clothes now, still startled by the cat's sudden appearance. Alice she noticed didn't seem to care that she still hadn't put on her bra yet as she sat down to seemingly converse with the cat.

Cheshire looked at Sakura and gave her an unsettling grin as he said, "My dear girl. I reside in Alice's mindscape and I am the boss summon of her Wonderland contract. If I really cared about such things I wouldn't have turned away while you two had your little fun in the Hot Spring. I am far too sophisticated and respect Alice's privacy too much to dare intrude on what she does with others. I would never have the desire to look at such things. Besides I am not interested to look at humans in that manner." The cat's grin grew wider somehow and concluded, "Even though I very much could woo the females."

Alice then looked at Sakura apologetically, "Sorry I didn't know that and didn't think it would be an issue. The contract was most useful fighting Deidara and Cheshire here was the one that set it all up. Also he likes to tease a lot. I hope this doesn't damage our friendship Sakura-chan."

Sakura wasn't sure what to think about this. She didn't mind what her and Alice did, in fact a small part of her wanted it to go further. She didn't like the idea of this cat looking in but she had a sneaky suspicion that he was being truthful if not fully, about not doing so.

Sakura then said, "I was just surprised is all. Besides he is still a he. And some summons are perverts." Sakura still wasn't sure what to make of it all.

Cheshire then said in an offended tone, "I would hope you don't compare me to Kakashi's dogs or some of the toads. I am a Cheshire cat. I am very different. Besides I have seen dear Alice here in her most _desperate hours_… If I were to have an interest in things of that nature, I don't think there would be anything I hadn't already seen."

Alice blushed at this knowing what he meant, and Sakura relaxed and sat down to put on her sandals. "It won't change anything Alice. Sorry if you thought otherwise. I will finish up and leave you two alone."

Alice gave Sakura a hug which caused the pink haired girl to blush and Cheshire to laugh at her response. Alice then said, "I appreciate the thought Sakura but I don't think it is something you have to go out of your way for. I am sure if it was something extremely important Cheshire would have waited until I was alone."

Cheshire nodded and said, "I was just checking in on Alice and wanted to ask her a question or two, nothing of secrecy. At the same time though it might be interesting to get to know you better Sakura. But your schedule is your own and I wish not to keep you from anything. Your presence won't interfere and would in fact be appreciated, but only if it is of your convenience."

Sakura thought for a bit but let her curiosity get the better of her. She did want to learn more about the Cheshire cat if she could. Plus he seemed to be very polite like Alice when he wanted to be. "I guess I can stay for a bit but really Alice maybe you should at least get dressed you know."

Alice nodded and then put on her bra and summoned her blue dress which was once again whole. Alice then said, "It does seem more stable and sturdy now. I really didn't think Underwear would make that much of a difference."

Cheshire raised and eye brow while he grinned and said, "I hope you were only in a hurry Alice and not deciding to get rid of underwear all together."

Alice gave a face and said, "I was caught in the hot springs by someone who wished to fight me. I won't take the time to request that the fight wait while I get dressed because I doubt attackers usually care about such things."

"Anyways I was wondering if you wished to visit Wonderland tonight. I have told you your friends there are most eager to see you again." The cat said.

"I was planning to do so. That is why I said I was about summon you earlier. Why else did you think I wanted to summon you Cat?" Alice asked with a bit of a teasing tone.

"I thought it was my dashing good looks. Or maybe you just enjoyed my company. Or maybe just wished to hear the sound of my voice." The cat said as he grinned.

"Hardly would it be your looks. They are unforgettable. As for your company while it is pleasant enough, I only saw you a few days ago when we took that lunch break on the way to Suna. Your voice, while swoon inducing to other women, I hear it plenty enough so it doesn't get to me like that. Speaking of which… Did you chuckle earlier? I could have sworn you did." Alice said.

Cheshire gave a chuckle, "Ahh. Yes... I thought your fight with the Hyuga heiress was most entertaining. And your response to her questioning of your skills was everything I expected. You never were one for subtly or a light touch. You are direct and to the point most of the time." The cat then laughed a bit louder when he said point.

Alice rolled her eyes and said, "Well if a giant book is locked and needs to be opened it is better to just break the lock than to try and pick it sometimes." Cheshire chuckled a bit louder at that.

The cat then said, "Yes you do that too. It is a good thing you own Wonderland or you might have had to pay for destruction of school property."

Sakura laughed at this. Alice told her about that earlier in the hot spring. "At the academy you would have fit in rather well Alice. Depending on what the property in question is, you might get complemented for destroying it. As far as books go, the guys would have cheered if you destroyed one. Naruto would have told you there was a finer touch to destroying things and after that he would have said pranking the teachers is much better."

Cheshire said, "Defies authority and likes to destroy things? My my Alice I think you have found your match in our young blonde friend." Sakura gave a little giggle.

Alice frowned and said, "There is much more to him than that."

"As there is to you as well Alice" replied Cheshire. Sakura stopped giggling and Alice stopped frowning as they all three started to talk.

After they talked they headed out together. Cheshire faded to the outside while the girls left the normal way. They talked a little more on the way back before they split up.

Once Alice and Cheshire were alone Alice said, "You know you never did tell me how to enter Wonderland Cat."

"Sorry Alice I was simply enjoying the conversation with you and your new friend. Anyways, entering Wonderland is simpler here in this world. All you have to do is calm your mind and then visualize where you want to enter in Wonderland, and 'poof' you are there. Eventually with enough practice you will be able to enter with just a thought. You might even be able to bring others along with you. However if you wish to do that be careful." Cheshire simply responded to her.

Alice felt a little excited hearing this. She already wanted to bring Naruto to her Wonderland and maybe even Sakura, if the pink haired girl wanted to see the place. She started making plans but then shook her head of her musings. She was far from giving people grand tours of her Wonderland. She also realized that there might be repercussions letting others into her mind.

Cheshire noticed her look and said to her, "You are now fully the owner and in control of Wonderland Alice. Others won't be able to do anything to your mind you don't allow them without a fight. Given you have fought for own mind before I think it would be foolhardy for the idiot that dared such a feat. You and your guests will be allowed to interact with each other and the local residents there, but rarely violently unless you make an exception."

Alice was getting a little anxious to visit her Wonderland tonight. She wasn't sure how it would be now that she had defeated the ruin and Bumby. She also hopped it wouldn't be too different from how it was before the ruin. From what she figured it was quite lovely. Having seen The Vale of Tears and some of the other places she was familiar with, that weren't attacked by the ruin as much. Right now though her main priority would be what to do about supper that night.

{-} {-} {-}

As Alice approached her home, she was thinking she might have to just pick something up, when the landlord greeted her by the gate. "Hello Alice-chan. Seems you are back. Was the mission successful?"

Alice wasn't sure what to think about his question, but she tried her best to answer it without explaining too much. "It was successful. We had some difficulties but we managed to pull through. How did you know about me having a mission?"

The kind man just chuckled and said, "Well I do keep some tabs on my tenants to make sure they get any help they need and noticed you and Naruto were gone for a good while. It is common actually. Ninjas have missions and don't always have much warning about them."

Alice just nodded realizing it only made sense. She then asked, "About that. I don't know how often or how long I will be on missions. What do I do about my rent in the situation I miss the due date because of one?"

"Just pay me when you get back or when you can pay me. It shouldn't be too bad I would think. Usually even if a mission isn't successful ninja are still paid a bit for their job, though in that case it is usually a good bit less." The landlord answered.

Alice figured this too made sense in a way and she thought it seemed very generous of the Hokage. She was about to dismiss herself and go get ready for shopping when the landlord stopped her.

"That reminds me. I usually like to have a meal every so often with my tenants, so I can get to know them better. In the past, it was usually just Naruto and sometimes a teacher of his that joined my daughter and me. I figured if you would like you could join us tonight in a couple of hours for supper. I already told Naruto, who arrived just a little bit before you. He said he would come. My daughter even seems kind of excited, partly because she hopes to meet you. You don't have to worry about her lessons yet, just get to know her tonight."

Alice smiled, this actually seemed like it would be fun. "I would be a horrible guest to decline such a kind offer this time. I will gladly be there. It would be nice to meet your daughter as well." She gave him a slight bow in thanks and then said, "Besides I haven't been able to get anything to eat for tonight anyways." The landlord gave a chuckle as she waved to him and left for her room excited to get a chance to meet someone new.

{-} {-} {-}

Once supper time came around Alice headed downstairs to the Landlord's attached house. She knocked on the door and was surprised to see Naruto answer it. "Hey Alice-chan. Did Teguchi invite you to dinner as well? Like your silk maiden dress, but you didn't need to dress up you know. It isn't a formal dinner or anything."

Alice nodded and said, "I know Naruto but I felt I should dress up a little bit. Besides first impressions are crucial you know." Naruto shrugged and lead the way to the dining room.

"Hey Alice is here Teguchi-san." Naruto yelled and stared at the landlord's daughter as she seemingly tried to straighten herself up for some reason. "Ahhh. Good to hear." Called the man from where the kitchen was located as Naruto sat down at his spot at the table. Still trying to figure out why the two girls seemed to be going out of their way to impress the other.

Alice stopped after entering the house and removed her shoes since that was proper here, though she didn't understand why. She then paused and took a couple of deep breathes to calm herself before entering the dining room. Alice looked around the room and noticed it was decently clean and had a good homey feel to it. She then locked her eyes on the girl sitting at the table.

{-} {-} {-}

Harumi was anxious hoping that she wouldn't make a bad impression on this Alice girl. She was a bit upset that her dad decided on an etiquette tutor for her on his own without letting her help pick, but she wasn't going to let it show until she at least met the girl. She kept asking him about her but he would just smile and say "Wait until you meet her Harumi." She would have done some snooping herself, but soon after she heard dad got her a teacher, the girl went on a mission since she was Kunoichi. Harumi had mixed feelings about this.

She wasn't sure what to make of a Kunoichi as someone to teach her etiquette. She knew her mother Satsuki was one but most of the Kunoichi she had seen around the village weren't what one would call classy. One with purple hair in a spikey ponytail would always have a bit of a hungry look in her eyes like that of a predator looking at other people. Several of the younger ones were always wearing bright colored clothes and behaved extra flirty. Others that one knew had seen too much were usually very quiet and kept to their selves except for the ones they had some kind of a relationship with.

However, when she heard Naruto shout that Alice was here she still straightened herself up and had earlier chosen to wear one of her better kimonos wanting to make a good impression. When she saw the girl walk in she was surprised. She didn't look much older than her and the girl seemed to have a certain grace about her different from the usual deadly grace a Kunoichi or Ninja had. She was also wearing a really nice kimono/dress mix of some kind. Harumi was a bit shocked when the girl's vivid green eyes locked on to her.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice looked at the girl sitting at the table. The girl looked to be her age and she would admit that Naruto was right to call her beautiful. The girl stood up and bowed. She was about the same height as Alice.

Alice then curtsied in return and said, "I am Alice Liddell. A new resident in Teguchi-san's apartment complex. It is a pleasure to meet you." Harumi bowed a few more times and then stood up rigidly before responding nervously, "I-I-I am Harumi Teguchi. It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Liddell."

Alice looked her over as the girl sat down rather stiffly. "That is a nice name Harumi-san. Please just call me Alice." Harumi nervously replied, "I will. Thanks Alice-sensei." Naruto just looked at the two girls again and was perplexed with their behavior. Alice seemed to be intently studying Harumi and Harumi seemed to be a nervous wreck. Teguchi's daughter was usually confident and a little tomboyish.

Alice sat down at the place Naruto pointed to her across from him. As she sat down elegantly, she continued to study the girl. Harumi had sea green hair that went to just above her shoulders, dark blue eyes, slightly tanned skin, and a slim figure. Alice thought this whole strangely colored hair thing, while very pretty, seemed rather unrealistic, but this was normal with hair in this world she had come to realize. Alice smiled at the girl warmly. Harumi tried to smile back at her warmly, but her nerves kept showing despite her attempts to hide them. She was just a civilian after all.

Teguchi came out of the kitchen with the food. He smiled and said, "You seem to have excellent timing Alice-chan. I just finished the pork cutlet." He then placed the food on the table and sat down. "I see you already met my daughter Harumi." He said as he looked over his nervous wreck of a daughter with some concern.

Alice tried to make the girl feel a little more relaxed, "That is really a pretty name." Harumi smiled and replied, "It is written to mean Spring Fruit."

"My wife Satsuki decided on it. Harumi takes after her physically, but seems to take my personality from when I was younger." Teguchi said before then leading them in saying "Itadakimasu".

As they served their selves Alice studied Harumi from the side of her eyes. The girl seemed to be nervous still. Alice sighed and said, "Harumi-chan. You can relax I am not here for your lessons." Harumi blushed a little bit and said, "But you are still my Etiquette tutor Alice-sensei."

Alice gave her a small smile, "Yes but I also want to be your friend too. Besides I want to see you act naturally. I want to see what I have to work with. Also you don't have to call me sensei…" Harumi relaxed a little bit, "If you say so Alice-sensei."

Naruto snickered, "Come on Harumi relax. Alice had to spend a good while in the woods with Ero-sannin and me. She is alright." Alice smiled and added, "Anyways I doubt you could surprise me after I watched Naruto eat ramen at Ichiraku's. I mean the kids at the orphanage where I stayed for a while had better manners than he did." Naruto faked a pout while Harumi laughed a little bit and finally relaxed completely.

The rest of the meal went by pleasantly after that. Naruto talked about how he had been training all day which earned him a frown from Alice, "Tsunade-sama told us not to train real hard and to relax for the next couple of days. Naruto…" Naruto just gave a nervous laugh and Harumi joked, "Well I don't think Naruto knows how to relax. He always trained until he collapsed and someone, usually Iruka, would bring him back to his apartment."

Alice frowned deeper and shook her head at this. As dinner kept going both Teguchi and Harumi traded tales about Naruto growing up. Alice was happy to hear the stories, but also felt sad that she wasn't there to watch Naruto grow up and he had such a tough upbringing on his own. She took a small amount of solace in the fact at least there were a few people that cared for him while he grew up, even if minimally.

{-} {-} {-}

After dinner was finished and both Naruto and Alice said goodbye to Teguchi and Harumi, the two headed back to their apartments. Alice was smiling to herself, "I must say that was a rather delightful dinner. Is it usually that much fun eating with them Naruto?"

Naruto smiled and answered, "Yes it is. I like it when we have dinner together. It is one of the few times I eat something other than ramen. So I guess I do get a 'real' meal sometimes at least."

Alice laughed, "I don't think it happens often enough to count. So you still will need to eat something other than just ramen Naruto if you want to be as strong as you can be."

Naruto snapped his fingers in disappointment. "You just won't let me just eat ramen will you Alice-chan?" Alice gave another laugh. She then frowned thinking about all of the things she had learned about Naruto today. Naruto noticed her frown. "Is something wrong Alice?"

Alice just shook her head, "It isn't anything to worry about Naruto. Just thinking about my day is all." Naruto looked at her curiously, "Oh what all did you do today Alice?"

Alice just gave a small smile and said, "It would take too long to explain." Naruto gave her a look, "Well come to my apartment for a bit then and tell me. Come on Alice. I told you all about my day and besides we have plenty of time. We are supposed to just relax you know. So I don't have anything planned for tomorrow."

Alice gave in to him and the two went to his apartment and talked. She told him about her hot springs trip minus the more personal details and the fight with Hinata and some of the following conversation. "So you and Sakura became friends huh? And you met Hinata. It is good to hear that she is reaching for her dream. She is a little weird at times, always fainting for some reason, but she is a precious person." Naruto said as he smiled wistfully at the ceiling.

Alice then remembered her conversation with Sakura about Sasuke. "Naruto." She said. "Yes?" He asked. "I am sorry for how I acted about the whole Sasuke thing. I didn't know what your Sensei told you guys when you first became a team."

Naruto laughed nervously. "I thought I told you about that… I guess I just thought it was understood or something. I guess I can understand why you acted the way you did now." Alice looked at him levelly and couldn't help, but gaze at his wonderful blue eyes. She responded, "I still don't like the guy for what he did to you. But I will try to help you and Sakura get him back the best I can."

Naruto smiled at her, "That is more than I could ask for Alice. Thanks." He looked into her green eyes and once again found himself drowning in them as she stared back into his. He felt his heart beat louder and he felt a little bit funny. Alice looked away from his eyes and he felt a little bit relieved and also disappointed for some reason. "So what do you plan to do tomorrow Alice?" he asked her.

"I think I will look around Konoha more thoroughly, since I didn't get to before our mission to Suna." Naruto then got an idea. It was a good idea but he was a little scared about how she would react to it. "Well… If you want…" He started a timidly, which pissed him off, because he was supposed to be really brave especially if he wanted to be Hokage.

Alice looked to him waiting for him to finish. "Want what Naruto?" She asked. He steeled his nerves and continued, "I could give you a full tour of Konoha. Since we are supposed to relax and all. Besides I made good progress today in training so I think I can take one day off. But only if you want me to Alice-chan."

Alice turned away and smiled to herself and blushed as she said quietly, "I would really like that Naruto, if you don't mind." Naruto looked away and gave himself a little cheer in celebration. He was really happy for some reason. "Of course I don't mind Alice-chan. I would like that. I never got to do that before."

Alice turned back still smiling, "Then I am honored that I am the lucky girl that gets to take your first tour." She then gave a little laugh. "Who knows maybe you can do it as a side business. Uzumaki tours. Price of admission three bowls of Ramen."

Naruto had a dreamy expression on his face thinking about the ramen before hearing Alice laugh a little louder and soon he joined her as well. After that they talked about other things before Alice finally stretched and said, "Well I think I should go to my own place now Naruto." He grinned cheekily as he answered, "Yes you need to rest up for tomorrow's tour Alice. I won't make it short."

Alice rolled her eyes, "I highly doubt I wouldn't be able to keep up with you Naruto. After all even Jiraiya couldn't lose me when we first met and you know what that means." Naruto gave a little chuckle, "You are fast. He does have plenty of practice running away from angry women that catch him peaking on him after all."

Alice laughed and added her own two cents, "which means he better hope he never peaks on me." Naruto laughed louder, "After what happened when he just pulled out his notepad that one time I doubt he ever will." Alice smiled and with that headed to her own apartment and got herself ready for what she had planned for the night.

* * *

A/N: I am sorry to say there is only one more chapter I have finished. I might post it but if I do it might take some time to post the chapter after it and the two kind of go together.


	13. Return to Wonderland

Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

Name no jutsu: originally in italics except for in flashbacks. But since I forgot this I decided to just leave it as is. I don't think I am underlining anything else in this story anyways.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: Since this story seems to have gotten more interest than I expected, and in such a short amount of time. I decided to go ahead and post this chapter. The next chapter is only about two thirds of the way written though, so it won't be ready for a while. It has an important part in it; I want to make sure I get right.

* * *

Chapter 13: Return to Wonderland

Alice looked at the clock she bought when shopping her first day here, and she noted the time. "9:45 pm. Seems I spent more time talking to Naruto than I originally planned." She smiled and said, "Oh well." She now had something to look forward to in the morning, since Naruto would give her a personal tour of Konoha tomorrow. The green-eyed beauty gave a soft giggle of excitement to herself.

Alice took a deep calming breath to relax, as she got ready to meditate. She just needed to clear her mind and then visualize where in Wonderland she wanted to go first. She took a few more slow breaths finding it easier than she thought to relax herself. "Maybe I really have found some semblance of peace now, even in a new world about to possibly go into war." Alice said to herself.

She now calmed her mind. This was also easier than she thought it would be, considering everything she had been through in her life. Once her mind was clear she thought of and pictured the Vale of Tears. She felt as if she was being sucked into somewhere, but this was much more bearable than when she was forced into her Wonderland in the past. This was probably because she was expecting it and looking forward to it.

She opened her eyes to once again find herself floating down to a familiar patch of land with a smile gracing her lips. She looked around as she slowly floated down, seeing the many floating rock islands in the distant horizon with large trees.

Her smile grew as she knew she would find plenty of time to explore her Wonderland in the future, if too much time doesn't pass in the outside world. She would see if she could ride Gryphon to those curious floating islands and see what she could find on them.

Alice had to admit to herself she still very much loved her Wonderland, and she silently berated herself for not having taken better care of it in the past. She was determined to change that now. She was also eager to bring her friends here and let them see her beautiful mindscape.

Alice realized she was getting close to the ground, and her smile somehow grew even more as she landed softly and delicately on the grassy ground. Her smiled grew because she saw a friend waiting for her and it wasn't Cheshire.

"Ahh… Greetings fair Alice. Nice to see you again. I was scared I might have been late. You know how much I hate being late. When I got here and I couldn't see you anywhere I feared so much I was. I never expected you to quite literally drop in so to speak." Said a white rabbit with a black top hat, red waist coat, and his ever present golden pocket watch.

Alice didn't say anything at first, instead she walked up to him quickly and gave him a hug. "Rabbit! I missed you ever so much! I thought I had lost you for good to the ruin. I did get some hope when I summoned Gryphon though. Still it is so good to see you again!" After hugging him a little longer she released him and said, "I was thinking it would be Cheshire greeting me again like usual."

He smiled back at her and said, "It is good to be back Alice. It was going to be Cheshire at first, but I went up to him and said I would meet you this time. I would have helped when you last came here, but unfortunately like Gryphon, I was one of the first to fall to the ruin. It was not pleasant."

Rabbit made a grimace but then got rid of it and continued, "It matters not now. You prevailed over the ruin and things are getting back to as they should be, or as you want them to be. It is your mind after all."

"But it is also your home along with the others. Jiraiya, Naruto and I figured that though this is my mindscape, it is also a living and changing world. Hopefully the changes will be good this time. Are all of the realms still here?" Alice asked curiously.

"For the most part yes. Some however are going through much renovation. The Dollhouses realm is being cleaned up and will take some time to sort out. It like much of Wonderland reverted back to the way it was before the ruin. However, it is still very much a jumbled up place. As for the people here, they are mostly still figuring things out again. Hopefully they will be able to do so this time." Rabbit seemed a little sad at the last part.

Alice winced as she said, "I wish to visit with several of the people here. You know, see what they are up to now and if they are willing and able to help me, should I require their assistance. I am sorry for what happened with that man…"

Rabbit gave her a sympathetic look and said, "Most are more than willing to help you still Alice. Just try not to let your mind go to ruin again or otherwise be threatened." Rabbit changed subjects "Anyways, Bill McGill is finally getting better from his problem, and has been busy helping get you a list of the new realms that are being made and the ones being repaired. I must say once the Hot Springs area is finished many will be excited, given your experience at them with your new friend."

Alice blushed and looked away. Rabbit broke his otherwise professional demeanor and gave a small laugh, "Don't worry Alice we did not see what really took place. We only recognized the feelings you had from the place is all. However, when Cheshire returned from talking to you two, he gave a way what he noticed. He is as perceptive as ever it would seem."

"What kind of things do you equate with the Hot Springs?" Alice asked hoping it wasn't too much similar to what she and Sakura did.

Rabbit smiled and said, "Awe, relaxation, curiosity a bit of lust and desire. But mostly friendship and socialization."

Alice blushed at the mention of lust and desire. She then shook her head and asked him, "What is of Lizzie now? Or well you know the Queen of Hearts? If I may ask?"

Rabbit held a neutral face and answered, "You did just ask. She is understandably a bit upset with you. Being your sister's avatar of sorts, she took the whole Bumby thing, rather personal. She will cooperate with you and probably deep down does want to be close to you, as you and your sister were in the past. Just realize, while she does share your sister's traits, she is also her own self. Like many of us here you based off of people you once knew or know."

Alice then gave a little smile and said, "You know. I have to say you are being much more helpful, than the cat ever was when I came here in the past." She then gave a little giggle at some joke she was making to herself.

Rabbit also gave a little laugh before he said, "Well in his defense, you had to figure things out to save us back then. Also relaying information is my main talent, along with speed and discretion now."

Alice gave a nod and the two started moving through the Vale of tears. She decided she would see what the Duchess was up to first. She looked to Rabbit and said, "I guess the discretion talent is newly acquired?"

Rabbit nodded, "Yes it is. If I am to be an effective message runner in your new home, I needed to be able to use stealth. It probably would be a good idea to allow me to meet Tsunade-sama and the others, so they recognize me when I come to call."

The two jumped from domino platform to domino platform. Alice then looked Rabbit over and said, "Not to be rude or anything. But wouldn't your waistcoat make you stand out?"

Rabbit looked as scandalized as he could and said in an offended tone, "Nonsense! I will not compromise my impeccable fashion sense for this world. Besides there are plenty of ninjas that wear more outlandish clothing I am sure. Naruto being one of them."

Alice frowned and said in defense, for some reason she didn't quite understand, "It is just his pants that are Orange. Besides he is skilled enough that bright clothing won't give him away." Alice looked and saw Rabbit raise an eyebrow as she responded, "I guess I sort of just contradicted myself. I was just concerned Rabbit. I don't want to lose you again." She looked at him with sorrow in her eyes for a split second before looking forward as the reached their destination.

The two landed on a ledge next to a giant snail and looked at the Duchess' house. Rabbit then said, "I can take care of myself now Alice. Well, we are here."

Alice looked the house before her over and sighed a little, "It looks the same. I just hope the Duchess isn't as overbearing as she was last time I was here." Rabbit gave a laugh as they approached the door.

Before Alice could get close enough to knock, the House slit open in half like last time. Inside the Duchess looked much the same. She still had her large face and her hair covered by a veil, with her same white dress and pink corset top. "Ahhh back again Alice? I guess it is good to see you again. I mean, Wonderland isn't in trouble is it?"

Alice wasn't sure what to make of her yet, so she answered, "No not this time. I am merely visiting my Wonderland, and saying hello to some old faces, to see what they are up to."

The Duchess seemed to lighten up hearing that. "Oh thank Goodness! I was worried it might be bad news again. I haven't really left my house much lately. I was planning to go looking for herbs, since my stock is low. But I don't know much of what is going on in the rest of Wonderland. I see you brought your little friend with you this time. Do take a seat if you wish."

Alice studied her as Rabbit took a seat. Alice then asked, "So are you still on your pork only diet?"

The Duchess chuckled and said, "Oh goodness no. I am into many different dishes now. So many new things to try, though I do still want pork whenever I can find it. But one must eat what they can find. Fortunately there are many different herbs and spices to choose from now to compliment the several new dishes."

Alice was a bit relieved that the Duchess, while being polite, didn't seem as overbearing as she was last time. Alice then asked, "So what do you do? Do you just cook still?"

Duchess looked up and replied, "I mostly do just cook. Otherwise I just enjoy the scenery around here. I'm afraid I wouldn't be of much help to you out there. I am an old woman after all. However if you wish to throw a dinner party or otherwise need an assistant cook, I am willing to help."

Alice then talked to the Duchess for a while longer. Like usual though the Duchess did most of the talking. Alice however was more patient now that she wasn't 6 years old, or in a hurry to save her own mind. Soon Rabbit and Alice departed the duchess' house and continued on their trip.

They came to a slide, which Alice looked at studying cautiously with her eyes. "I did not expect to see these slides still here. They sort of seemed to symbolize my sanity's slippage or some sort of thing along those lines." Alice said with minor distaste.

"It is just here as a short cut to the Looking Glass Line Station. Speaking of which, Mock turtle is once again running it. However, with the growing populace and extra areas, there are now many trains traveling and more switching rails. More may be added as needed later. He is also the head of a staff now; after all he can't run all of the trains at the same time can he?" Rabbit said.

Alice frowned a bit and then shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well I guess that makes sense in a way. Is that the best way to Hatter's Domain?"

Rabbit nodded, "Just wait until you see the stop now. It is better than it once was." He then hopped on to the slide and went on his way.

"I hope so, last time it was in need of much repair." Alice said to herself, as she then took the slide as well.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice actually enjoyed the slide. Without the boiling patches of ruin and much better scenery, the ride wasn't half bad. As she landed Alice said, "Well Rabbit that was much better than last time I took it. I wonder where Gryphon stays now. I wish to visit the mad hatter first, but I would like to properly thank Gryphon for his aide at some point."

Rabbit sighed, "He has his own place now and it is pretty nice. But every time someone goes there, he brags about how he was the one first summoned after the contract was signed."

Rabbit then smiled as he continued, "He does like to recount your fight. It has helped many of the residents here to feel more confident you won't just let this place fall to doom again, not without a fight first beforehand, instead of almost when it is too late at least."

Alice's face darkened. She was about to apologize but Rabbit stopped her, "Don't worry Alice no one blames you. Well maybe the Queen of Hearts does, but no one else. They just need to have a little confidence restored to them is all. The fact you are here now, talking and looking around to get a better idea of Wonderland's condition, is already helping with that. They may not hear what you think, or see what you see, but they do feel you are here and that helps them."

Alice smiled weakly after that and decided to change the subject, "How have the trains and the Looking Glass Line changed?" They were now moving again. Alice was happy the place wasn't falling apart around her like last time. The chunks of land falling from beneath her feet, and visions of fiery destruction all around her last time was quiet unsettling in her opinion. Now things were very much stable and peaceful.

"You might as well just walk a little more Alice. We are almost there. I will assure you the trains are much nicer and pleasanter than that infernal train was." Rabbit said in answer to her question.

"I certainly hope so. That monstrosity was horrify and destructive." Alice said in reply.

After a couple more minuets, they turned a bin and before them was the Vale of Tears Looking Glass Line station. It was larger than last time. The roof wasn't a rusty piece of metal anymore. Instead it was a nice building with roof coverings on both sides and two railways.

The main building had a nice shingled roof and ticket office along with an indoor waiting area. Alice wasn't sure why the needed an indoor waiting area, as far as she knew it didn't rain or get cold in Wonderland, but then again maybe it did and she wasn't around during those times. The building was ornate but not overly so. The wooden pillars were rather simple yet decorative at the same time.

There was plenty of room for people waiting and it seemed there were a good few doing just that right now. She recognized them all to some degree from what she could see of them. She next took in the sight around the place. There was another one of those pretty floating sky islands in the background, but close enough you could make out the trees pretty well.

Across from the building there was a little pond with a crying Alice statue. Alice didn't mind the statue of her crying, she felt it gave off a sort of sorrowful beauty feeling. Around the pond there were several lily pads and mushrooms. The water was clear and you could see some fish swimming below the surface and a group for multicolored rocks on the bottom.

She looked to Rabbit and said, "It does seem much nicer than I thought it would be. I also find it good there are two sets of tracks here. It seems much larger than I remember it being."

Rabbit looked the station over and said, "It is larger than it was, and this is one of the smaller stations. The ones in more populated places are much grander in scale. Hatter's Domain, which is run much more ethically, now has a large station with many sets of tracks. Lots of the people work there so it is one of the larger stations. I imagine once the Doll Houses are ready that realm will have one of the biggest stations in Wonderland. The Queensland Station is as you can imagine very ornate in design. Caterpillar's realm is very oriental in design. He still goes by Caterpillar even though he is now a butterfly of sorts, by the way."

"Thanks, I was wondering about that." Replied Alice.

Alice was given a cheerful greeting from the people waiting for a train while Rabbit approached the ticket desk and asked for two tickets to Hatter's Domain. The two friends then waited as a beautiful green and black engine pulled up to the station.

Alice looked over the magnificent steam engine in front of her eyes. It looked very powerful and had a tall smoke stack. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw not smoke and ash coming from the train but bubbles instead.

Alice then heard a voice she recognized, but it didn't have the cowardliness like it did the last two times she saw him. "Ahoy There Alice!" Said the mock turtle from the engineer window.

Alice looked up and gave him a smile as she greeted him in return, "So back to your old job I see. It seems to suit you I think."

Mock turtle grinned and tilted back his engineer cap and said with pride, "Once the ruin was gone and the Mad Hatter in charge of Hatter Industries again. He gave me my job back as long as I promised to not let him go tealess again. Not that I can do much about that but I agreed anyways. I also have a few other engineers that work under me as well now."

Alice gave a little smirk and said, "Well then you better hope I don't decide to cut off his tea on a whim, or you will be in deep trouble. As a matter of fact, I think Hatter needs to be put in his place, since he proved to be most unhelpful last time I was here."

Mock Turtle started sweating before Alice gave a little laugh and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't joke about such matters Alice."

Both Rabbit and Alice laughed and she apologized, "I am sorry Mock Turtle. I couldn't resist. You should think more before you agree to things in the future though."

He sighed again knowing she was right before saying, "Anyways Alice if you are going to Hatter's Domain you best board. We are getting ready to depart." With that Alice and Rabbit gave the conductor a glimpse of their tickets and got on board. The Conductor was a seal that seemed to walk on his tail instead of a set of legs.

Once inside, the green eyed girl was again nicely surprised. The train cars were wonderful. There were quaint little compartments on the right side and decent room for walking the train to the left. She noticed there were some overhead compartments for smaller beings in some places as well.

She followed Rabbit who took her to the last car. She noticed there were some cars that just had benches for sitting, on either side of a walkway that went through the middle. She figured these were for people that didn't have far to go or just didn't care for the luxury of a compartment. However this being Wonderland the bench seats could be the 'Luxury' seats, since things were always different in Wonderland.

As Rabbit directed her into a compartment she said to him, "You know if the other trains here in Wonderland are as nice as this one I might just start to like trains."

"Well a select few are fancier, but the other ones are the same more or less. Anyways might as well rest. We have a ways to go before reaching The Hatter Exchange. That is the name of the Hatter's Domain station." Rabbit said to her.

Alice just laughed a little and said, "I could figure that out on my own Rabbit, but thanks nonetheless." After that she relaxed and got ready for a decent length trip to see her friend the mad hatter.

{-} {-} {-}

The train ride was pleasant enough, and she enjoyed some tea from the refreshment cart. As they pulled into The Hatter Exchange she had to say it was even bigger than she thought it would be. It had at least two large terminals, each with several tracks heading into them.

"It is amazing Rabbit! I have never seen something like this before. Is it very busy?" Alice asked excitedly.

"As I said earlier a lot of the residents work here. It is mostly busy when the shifts change. There are others that still come here for business throughout the day, and residents from other realms in Wonderland like the visit the place." Rabbit easily answered.

The train came to a complete halt, and they exited on to an amazing platform with a floor that is a mix of large gears that don't move, and chess board patterned tiles. Alice looked around the platform and there was a large ornate clock with clear glass, and an orange glow behind the clock face.

She also saw several benches for people to sit along the walls and plenty of standing room for loading and unloading passengers. She also saw what looked like a few small restaurants of some kind as well. For the most part, the station seemed to be more aimed towards business rather than a leisure kind of place.

The two made their way to the exit. Once she got outside she looked and noticed that Hatter's Domain looked much the same. The buildings were floating in a yellow green sky which faded into a late twilight color with stars. The buildings were also on platforms that sometimes looked like tea pots and other times looked like gears. The place was much more accessible now, there were gear bridges and smaller trams that led to the many different buildings.

Alice frowned and said to Rabbit, "How on Earth are we going to find Hatter? This place is as large as ever, maybe even more so now. He has an office right? Maybe a usually place he takes his tea at this time?"

Rabbit looked thoughtful for a minute and said, "He has an office which he is never inside of. However, he also has a tea room that he can be found in frequently. He does all of his business matters there as well as take tea. Also worst case scenario you could just visualize appearing before him. This is your Wonderland after all and is your mindscape as well."

Alice frowned and responded. "I wish to stay with you Rabbit. I dare not try and take someone with me when I first try navigating Wonderland that way."

Rabbit nodded in understanding and approached a receptionist desk. "Two to see the Hatter please. And don't say he is busy, we know he isn't right now. Besides he would want to see Alice, I am sure." The receptionist understood and soon a tram was summoned to them.

{-} {-} {-}

It took only a few minutes to find the Hatter. They found him in one of his tea testing rooms. As they entered, the Hatter looked up and said, "Ahh, Hello Alice. Rabbit, sorry about the stepping thing back then. Rage does that to one, even if it isn't entirely their own."

Rabbit just gave a slight bow and said, "It is in the past. As long as you don't do it in the future, I think we are good Hatter."

Hatter then nodded and kept working on something Alice couldn't see. "Good to know. I would have a much harder time doing so now, that you are your regular size, even if you are still small. So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

The Hatter was extremely tall, green skinned with a large nose and ears. He was currently bent over something that Alice could only guess had to do with tea. He was wearing his usual get up. He had on a loose strait jacket with several black belts and cooper buckles.

Alice could still make out where his different mechanical body parts connected. She was glad to see they at least weren't rusty anymore, especially the large gear in his back. He still wore his very tall checkered top hat. She noticed the same symbols from last time, but there were a few new ones as well. One of the new symbols was the Konoha arrow. She looked down and noticed he was wearing the same black slacks and dress shoes with spats.

She answered his question. "Can't I come and visit an old enemy and friend?"

Hatter replied, "I suppose so, though I don't know why you would want to visit an old enemy."

Alice sighed and said, "Ok. I meant an old enemy turned friend."

"Ahhh... Now that I can understand. What is it they call it. Ah yes, 'Defeat means friendship.' Or maybe 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'." The green skinned man replied.

Alice rolled her eyes. Typical hatter, as always he was thinking about many things, and speaking them at the same time. It made understanding him rather difficult at times. "Well Hatter whatever the case, I am here to see you. It is good to see you are still in one piece, and not experimenting on your workers and friends anymore, or so I hear."

"I hear what you hear. But is that what is really going on here? Truth is I still experiment with them. However, the tests are much more to their liking. Not in their likeness mind you, but to the pleasure of their taste buds." Hatter then turned around, looked Alice over, and said, "Well. Well you look much better yourself. Finally found a home have you?"

Alice placed her hands behind her back as she thought for a second and answered, "I believe so. I am still new to Konoha, but I have already started to love it in a way. As they say Home is where the heart is."

"Nonsense, if your home was where your heart was then you would be living in your on chest. Anyways Alice…" Hatter gave a smile. "Do you finally have time for tea or are you in a hurry? As you have been these last times you visited Wonderland."

Alice gave him a smile and said, "I actually this time, finally do have time for tea. I must say I look forward to something other than just the normal boring green tea, these people here seem to be so in love with."

Hatter gave an 'hmmm' and said, "I know what you mean. There has been an influx of it here. It has taken a lot of work, but I have finally found a way to take the boring everyday green tea and give it a little extra flavor, using easy to find ingredients at your local grocer in the five nations! Coming soon to a Wonderland near you, on mass scale. It taste Wonderful, delightful, stupendous and dare I say erotic! In a non-sensual way of course."

Alice gave a little giggle and said, "Tea being erotic in a sensual way? I am not sure that is possible Hatter."

Hatter then struck a thinking pose and said, "That sounds like a challenge young miss. We here at Hatter Industries believe nothing is possible, therefore everything is impossible, thus everything can be done eventually. However, now is not the time for new challenges. It is now tea time!"

Alice gave an amused smile and said, "Indeed you are right Hatter, my good sir. What is on today's menu?" Alice was about to sit down, but decided when partaking in a formal yet madly casual tea party, one must dress for the occasion. Alice then burst her dress and replaced it with her Hatteress dress.

Alice liked this dress a good bit. She was now wearing a strait jacket of her own. Alice's was much more fitting to her body and fashioned with a skirt. Her jacket was also white with black straps like Hatter's.

Alice was glad to see that she still had both arms this time and her hair was still her same length. She didn't mind the crop it was cut to last time she visited Wonderland in this dress. However, she liked her hair shoulder length better.

She still had her same black boots on, but her stockings were now green with two belts wrapped around her upper thighs just visible below the hem of her, now much shorter, skirt. She also had a smaller version of Hatter's top hat with the same symbols and the Konoha arrow displayed in the center. Her bow was now replaced with a cog piece, but her eyes were now copper with a gear spinning around each iris.

Alice found this very curious. She concentrated and noticed she could somehow Zoom in with her eyes. She wasn't sure if this would work in the outside world. She decided she would have to give it a try sometime.

She brought her eyes back to normal zoom level and looked to the Hatter. He had now placed a tea tray on the center of a table where they would have their tea party. Rabbit sat down on one side of the Hatter. So Alice took the other side of the Hatter, since there were only the three of them.

Once she finally sat down, Hatter said with a raised eyebrow while rubbing his chin, "Excellent Wardrobe choice Alice. One should always wear a top hat, unless they don't. Anyways enjoy the new tea I just finished quality checking."

Rabbit spoke up and said, "Can I just have a half cup Hatter?"

Hatter smiled and said, "Sure which half do you want? Top or bottom?"

Rabbit thought and then said, "Top half." The hatter then filled a tea cup, and cut it in half horizontally. The tea for some reason didn't spill out the bottom of the top half though.

"And you fair Alice? Half or full?" The Mad Hatter asked her.

Alice pursed her lips for a split second in thought and said, "I'll have a full. I do have plenty of time I think."

Hatter then poured her a full cup and passed it to her as he said, "Ahhh yes time. Something I still know much about. Time here I believe, from what Cheshire has said, passes differently. You will have to figure out how so, once you return to Konoha." He poured himself a full cup as well.

Alice then took the warm steaming tea. It had a sweet scent to it much different from the green tea she usually had lately but it still looked like it was green tea. Alice wasn't sure what to make of it she wanted something other than green tea.

She took a sip and was pleasantly surprised by its taste. The green tea flavor mixed pleasantly with something that was a little sweet. She smiled as she took another sip. She then said excitedly, "I say Hatter I believe you have come up with something truly fantastic. What is this tea anyways?"

Hatter gave a little hum before saying, "You are wrong Alice. It is not fantastic, but rather Fantastical! It is green tea, which there is an absurd abundance of it seems, and sake."

Alice gave him an almost horrified look, like she felt she had just done something wrong by drinking something with alcohol in it. Hatter snorted and said, "Don't give me that look. You are old enough to drink in both London and Konoha. Besides it isn't like you are going to make it a habit like that Hokage woman."

Alice thought over his words and decided she didn't care to throw a fit about the matter. She wasn't about to go Pris Witless or anything like that anyways. Besides this was some really great tasting tea. She took another sip and savored the taste again. She gave a contented sigh and said, "I suppose you are right. It is really good. So you experiment with tea for your business? How is it running such an extensive operation, and having such a huge station on the premises?"

"The trains now are much better than that one was. I made sure they would be. It is tough running Hatter Industries with actual people. I have to treat them like well… people. Much easier with robots, though the efficiencies of the work force I have now are much improved. Robots go and fall apart on you at the worst possible time. Plus many of the employees are more than happy to help with testing new teas. I do of course make sure they are consumable first. I do love mixing up different teas and such to find new tastes. That is probably the best part of this job. I am no longer tea less!" Hatter answered her.

Alice then decided to take another sip before getting the last of her business with the hatter done with. "So Hatter how are you able to help me in the outside world? I would hope you could be useful so I could summon you."

Hatter took a slow sip from his cup before placing it down and answering the dark haired girl. "Well I have long legs and I can run and jump like I did before. Where Gryphon can get you from place to place by flying, I can do so on the ground. Which if you want to avoid attention can be useful. I can also fight in my own way, without falling apart mind you. Also I am a genius. Lastly or firstly, if you count in reverse, I have steam attacks and abilities. I am not sure to what extent these powers are. So sometime you will have to summon me for some practice. All things considered I will gladly come to your aid, even though we once fought each other and you won."

"That does sound useful Hatter. I will be happy to summon you from time to time." Alice said with a little smirk.

"There is more than one time? What is this other time you speak of? I only thought there was just time. It can flow differently, but there is still just one time is there not?" Hatter said a little panicked.

Alice let out a small giggle and said to the man, "It is a figure of speech. Not an actual character representing speech, mind you, but a saying. It simply means I will summon you sometimes." Hatter let loose a breath in relief.

After that the three enjoyed their tea party. Alice had another cup of the green tea sake, and told Hatter her opinion of him, "I have to say you are still as mad as a hatter, but now you also have the charm. Also this is probably one of the most enjoyable tea parties I have ever had."

"And you are actually a delightful and wonderful guest Alice. Rabbit here is as polite and formal as ever though." Hatter said earning a small laugh from Alice and a halfhearted glare from Rabbit, who was enjoying the bottom half of a cup of tea now.

Alice later took a top half of a cup of tea, staring at the tea cup and zooming in with her eyes, while giggling from both being tipsy and discovering her new ability. She stood up a little bit dizzy, and gave Hatter a farewell promising to see him again.

As she walked back to the tram with Rabbit, she changed back into her blue dress. She then looked down with flushed cheeks and gave him another hug. Rabbit was a bit surprised by this action and asked, "What is it Alice?"

She simply gave him a lopsided smile and said, "Nothing… I just really missed you is all Rabbit." She put him back down and staggered a little bit. The tea had affected her more than she thought it would. It really was stronger than it seemed it might be. However, she was still aware of her surroundings, mostly.

She then stretched her arms up and let out a sigh of contentment. She said, "I say Rabbit. Is the Village of the Doomed still here? I do hope so. I wish to give Elder Gnome a proper thanks for the aid he gave me, back when I came here to cure my sanity."

"Yes it is still there and he is as well. Except now they call the place Torch Cavern. You know since they are the torch gnomes. They still mine for resources, but they work decent and regular hours now. I don't think he will be able to contribute to the outside world though Alice, but since you want to see him we can. I believe there is an express train that goes there. They provide most of the raw materials for Hatter Industries' non tea related projects." The White Rabbit answered Alice.

Alice gave him yet another hug as she said, "As I said before you are much better at giving information than that cat." She giggled, put him down and they made their way to visit Torch Cavern.

{-} {-} {-}

The express train was very fast. It had some strange contraptions attached to the side that shot out fire and smoke while propelling it forward. Alice figured they were parts from the infernal train re-purposed in a manner that brought about prosperity, instead of destruction. Alice, still with flushed cheeks, gave a little giggle and said to herself, "Taking something originally bad, and using it for good, since it is helpful."

Rabbit raised an eyebrow at Alice, who just smiled and giggled once more and sat down for the remainder of the train ride.

{-} {-} {-}

The ride was fast but enjoyable, and Alice had been much more talkative than before. Rabbit enjoyed this, though he wasn't sure if it was because of Hatter's special tea, or that she actually felt more at ease now that she knew Wonderland was in good condition. He guessed it might actually be a bit of both.

As they climbed out, Rabbit heard Alice humming some unrecognizable tune to herself. Rabbit was about to ask what it was when Alice asked, "So how are we going to find Elder Gnome, Rabbit? This place is much different from how I remember it." Alice then looked out towards what once was the village of the Doomed from the ledge they stood on.

Torch Cavern was actually kind of pretty. The buildings were much neater and cleaner than last time. The board walks were in fine condition and the underground lakes were now a clear blue, instead of acid green. Rabbit and Alice made their way down the stair case chiseled out of the rock walls. Alice noticed there were several skylights and vents that reached to the surface. The sunlight coming in through said skylights reflected in different colors from the rock walls.

Once they reached the bottom of the steps Rabbit said to Alice, "We just have to follow this main boardwalk here Alice to reach Mayor Elder's office. He should be there at this time of day."

Alice gave a giggle and thought to herself, _"Seems I still am following The White Rabbit. Maybe it really is a vice of mine to follow creatures into strange places." _

Alice looked around as she followed Rabbit. The village seemed much more prosperous. The main walkway was lined with several stores, houses and offices. She saw one for Hatter Industries and Wonderland banking. She also saw a pretty little tea shop with a garden out front.

Alice smiled to herself as they kept going. Wonderland really had changed once again, but things were obviously better now. She also noticed some gnomes that looked at her with awe in their eyes. She really didn't like it, but she put up with it here. She just hoped it wasn't as bad as things were back in Suna after they saved Gaara.

After a few more minutes they finally reached the mayor's office. Rabbit said, "Here we are Alice. I bet he will be most pleasantly surprised you came here to speak to him." Rabbit held the door open and Alice walked inside the building. The room they entered was rather plainly decorated. Alice took this to be a good sign, showing that the wealth was used for the community rather than just one man's, or in this case gnome's, comfort.

A gnome woman looked up and greeted Alice and Rabbit in turn, "Greetings how are you today Mistress Alice? I can't believe I actually get to see you." The woman gnome seemed excited. She was a little smaller than the male gnomes Alice was used to seeing. The female torch gnome looked like most of the gnomes, a smaller person but clearly an adult. The female had dark blonde hair and wore a simple green dress.

Alice curtsied and greeted her in return. "It is a pleasure to meet you ma'am." The little woman blushed and smiled as she said, "I'm known as Sally. How may I help you today?"

Rabbit then spoke up, "We are here to see Mayor Elder. Alice wished to speak with him. Is he in today?"

The gnome woman smiled and told them to follow her as she led them into the Mayor's office. She said to them before opening the door, "He might be busy so just stay in the back and wait until he is finished. He will be glad to see you Alice. He feared you might forget the torch gnomes." Alice hid a slight grimace. "I told him you would come, even if it took some time." The small woman concluded and opened the door.

The office was nice and neat but not overly decorated, but it was slightly more decorated than the entrance hall. There was a big window in the back and the room was painted green with a decent sized desk in the center. Standing by the desk was an ancient looking gnome wearing a blue hat, white short sleeved shirt and red pants with red suspenders. The small man wore pretty much the same thing he wore when Alice first met him, at least his beard looked cleaned now.

The gnome was holding papers and he reading them while smoking his pipe, and standing in front of his desk. He looked like his health was better but still he clearly loved to smoke. He then looked up and said in a raspy voice, "Awww Alice. I didn't think you would come to visit me. You didn't after regaining your sanity. So I figured you had better things to do. Though it is nice to see you again nonetheless."

Alice gave him a little smile and said, "Well you did help me back then. You seem a little less weary now. But it seems you still have a love for the pipe Elder Gnome, or should I say Mayor Elder?"

Elder Gnome gave a gruff laugh as he placed the stack of papers down. "Well in my defense not only am I old, but also I was still trying to fight tyranny at that time. As for the pipe, don't deny an old man his simple and few pleasures. You can call me Elder." He then motioned for them to sit in front of his desk, while he took his own seat behind it.

Alice sat down and said, "Well I guess being one of the last few to defy the Queen of Hearts can be tiring. It seems it wasn't all bad in the end though, you are after all Mayor now."

"Being mayor isn't all it is cracked up to be. I have to listen to my people squabble sometimes and there is always paper work. Hopefully a new one will come forward soon. Many of the gnomes became encouraged as you regained control of Wonderland. We fought off the ruin as much as we could. We suffered from it, but we were better off than most for some reason." He said in a tired voice as he took a draw from his favorite pipe.

Alice frowned and apologized, "I am sorry things got like that. It won't happen again if I can help it. I won't forget and I will keep visiting Wonderland when I can."

The old gnome dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it Alice. It is in the past now. Don't let it get to you."

Rabbit wanting to break the sad mood spoke up. "It seems you have really improved Torch Cavern. I guess business is going well?"

Alice smiled and added, "Yes I must say it is rather pleasant for being in a cave system. I saw a nice little assortment of stores, though they seemed to be mostly empty right now. Is something going on?"

Elder Gnome smiled weakly and said, "Yes, it is a day of rest. Working in the mines even with a much more bearable work schedule is still tough. Most are either sleeping in or have left to visit other parts of Wonderland. There are also a lot helping with reconstructing the doll houses right now, and staying in temporary housing there. That place really needs a lot of work. Anyways how can I help you?"

Alice shuddered a little remembering the place. She supposed she would have to visit sometime, but she wouldn't dare go there for a good while yet. She then recovered and said, "I just wanted to come and visit really. I felt I should come and thank you for your help and a chance to catch up is all."

Elder Gnome gave a smile and with that they spent a good bit of time talking. The mayor told Alice all about what they do in Torch Caverns now, including festivals they hold and other such events. Alice told him the tales of her fight against the ruin and what has been happening to her now.

The gnome stood there gob smacked and said, "That sounds like a tough journey. I'm sure the younglings will love to hear it told, along with how you saved us the first time. Maybe when you visit in the future you can tell them some of your stories from this new world."

Alice gave a small smile and said, "I don't know if they would want to hear about my life. I mean I loved stories when I was younger, but what is the purpose of telling others my stories? Besides isn't everyone in Wonderland aware of what goes on?"

Elder Gnome took a long draw on his pipe before exhaling and answering her first question, "Stories teach us lessons. They don't just entertain. You should be aware of this Alice." He then took another draw on his pipe.

Rabbit then answered Alice's second question, "While everyone is aware of what happens out there we don't know specifics. It is like I said with the hot springs. This applies to everything. We may hear what happens from those that you summon to your side. But most people, as you know, like to embellish or keep others guessing. You on the other hand are much more honest and truthful."

Alice sighed, "Maybe I will do that." After a few minutes silence, Alice stood and gave the Mayor a bow, "I think it is about time that I say goodbye Elder Gnome."

The ancient gnome stood and shook her and Rabbit's hand as he said, "Yes I should get back to work at any rate. It really was good to see you two again."

Alice smiled and said, "Likewise Mayor. I will return sometime in the future."

He smiled and said, "I hope so." With that he buzzed in his secretary and bade them farewell.

{-} {-} {-}

As they waited for the express, Rabbit turned to Alice and asked, "So Alice where do you wish to go to next, if I may ask?"

Alice gave a little giggle and said, "I believe you just did Rabbit." Rabbit gave a little laugh. Alice continued, "I think I would like to visit Caterpillar next. Does he still hang around the Oriental grove?"

Rabbit gave a nod, "Yes he does. It will take a little while to get there if you wish to go by train. Of course you spent a good bit of time there so we could just take a portal there."

Alice still didn't like the sound of these portals yet. She would try them, but she didn't want to risk losing Rabbit by taking one. "I think I would like to take the train. It really isn't so bad you know. I will try making these portals later on my own. I don't want to risk any of my friends with them yet."

Rabbit nodded his understanding and got tickets that would take them on through to the Oriental Grove, after changing trains at Hatter's Exchange.

Alice was getting a little anxious. She knew this trip to Wonderland was coming to an end soon. She wanted to see Caterpillar, thank Gryphon and last but not least visit Lizzie the Queen of Hearts. She was terrified of the last visit, not sure how to meet with the Queen, but she knew she needed to visit her. Alice only hoped the Queen would start to forgive her for what she did to Wonderland with the Bumby thing.

Alice took a deep breath as she and Rabbit boarded the express train. She would face whatever happened face on and not tremble in fear, she decided again as the train pulled away from the station.

* * *

A/N: Next Chapter Alice concludes her journey to Wonderland. Also after that Naruto will start getting more of the spotlight again, since Alice has kind of taken over for the past couple of chapters. She does find ways to make things suit her.

This chapter may not be perfect but I hope you enjoyed reading it.


	14. Caterpillars, Gryphons and Hearts

Naruto's Butterfly

"Normal person speaking"

"_This means someone is thinking these lines."_

Flashbacks will have a break before and after.

Name no jutsu: originally in italics except for in flashbacks. But since I forgot this I decided to just leave it as is. I don't think I am underlining anything else in this story anyways.

**Demons or 'higher beings' along with inners talk and think like this.**

A/N: Thought I would get this out before I went to Lindsey Stirling's show Friday Night. But that didn't work out in the end; the thing was too large to finish in time. However the show was absolutely amazing! And I will probably still be geeking out over it for, at a bare minimum one week. It was also cool seeing such a diverse age group at a 18+ show.

* * *

Chapter 14: Caterpillars, Gryphons and Hearts

As they finally approached the train station at the Oriental Grove, Alice began to get a little excited. She didn't really get to spend much time with Caterpillar since he became a butterfly. She did intend to ask him why it was he still went by Caterpillar, and not now by Butterfly, or maybe something that wouldn't rely on his form like Sam. For some reason Alice always thought of Caterpillar as a Sam.

Rabbit saw Alice looking out the window. "I do warn you he might ask you to partake in a certain past time he likes to enjoy. I will give you three guesses to what it is, and the first two don't count." He said to her.

Alice gave a mischievous smile and said, "Oh really? A whole three guesses?"

Rabbit not sure where she was going with this said, "Yes and the first two don't count."

Alice's smile turned into her imitation of Cheshire's grin, which was really close. Rabbit knew he was in trouble seeing that grin. Alice then said, "Alright then. Here are my guesses in order." Rabbit waited wondering what she was going to say.

"The first one is Smoking. The second one is Smoking. The third one is eating cake, the fourth one reading a book and the last one…" She paused causing Rabbit to lean in closer in anticipation as her grin grew before suddenly disappearing, and replaced with her thoughtful expression. "play a game of Dominoes " She said with a smug smile as if she had guessed some secret to the universe.

Rabbit hung his head and sighed while Alice giggled. "I always did find it odd when people said that. I mean really. What if someone thought they knew what the answer was, and it actually was the answer and they guessed it twice. Since those two guesses didn't count they started to lose confidence in their answer and choose three other more safe and ordinary answers?"

Rabbit let out a little laugh and sighed, "I guess I should have known better than to try and get a little smart with you Alice. You have too much in common with Cheshire when it comes to wit."

Alice giggled again and said, "Don't worry about it Rabbit I was only teasing anyways. If Caterpillar offers me to smoke with him I think I might actually take him up on it. I don't think I would do such things outside of Wonderland, but when I visited the Vale of Doom and later the Oriental Grove. I sort of took a fancy to it despite knowing it wouldn't be a good idea usually."

Rabbit sighed, "Yes we thought so. We were not happy that you were forced to try it as a part of your mission. Anyways you might want to visit the temple and the Origami Ants first. I am sure they will see it as some sort of bad omen and throw a fuss, if their savor and the one chosen to lead them, refuses to visit when she first returns after the ruin has been defeated."

Alice placed a finger on her lips and said, "I thought they worshiped Caterpillar as the protector of the mountain and sought advice from him."

Rabbit nodded and said, "He is the protector of the mountain, but you Alice are the one chosen to lead them. You will have to make a brief stop to visit the Ant Elder at the least."

Alice frowned, not liking the sound of being some kind of chosen one. "What do I have to do as 'the chosen one to lead'?"

"Not too much, just visit with the Ant Elder from time to time, and he will discuss things with you." Rabbit answered.

The green eyed beauty just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Alright I will do so. I usually got along fairly well with him anyways. I just hope I won't have to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat for them. I do hate how Hatter was so fond of that song. Despite it getting him in trouble for killing time… I wonder if that is part of the reason he became so obsessed with time later?"

Rabbit shook his head "I doubt you will have to do that Alice. I don't know about the latter I am afraid, but it could be possible."

{-} {-} {-}

The train finally pulled into the station, Oriental Crossing. The station was very oriental, like Rabbit had told her before it would be. The Roof looked like something similar to what she could find in Konoha in the older parts of the village, and like she saw at the bath house. There were lion statues on the corners of the roof and at the top was a jade dragon statue.

The building was several stories tall with large paper lanterns hanging by the entrances, and a jade lion on each side of the lanterns. Inside the actual terminal there was a large porcelain statue. The statue had the body of a beautiful woman with her kimono undone, exposing her chest, and showing off her blue dragon tattoo which covered the center. The statue was actually beautiful, but the ant head in place of a human's was a bit off putting.

"I had hoped the statues would be more normal. At least it isn't the one that had bloody tear streaks. But still it looks strange to see a rather beautiful woman's body with an ant's head. What do you think Rabbit?" Alice asked as she continued looking at the statue in front of her. She didn't really have time to take in the sights while she scrambled to regain her memories last time.

Rabbit thought for a moment before answering. "I can see what you mean but at the same time, do beings not usually craft things in their own likeness in a certain way? Considering the local populace is composed mostly of the origami ants, I can understand why they made the changes."

Alice thought over what Rabbit said. "I guess I can see what you mean. Though I don't remember the origami ants looking this… Humanoid…"

"That is why I said in a certain way. Alice." Rabbit replied.

Just then they heard a high voice a distance away say, "Ahh the chosen one! The brave, The strong, The brash, The beautiful, the crazy and reckless. Alice!" said a monk ant wearing a yellow and orange men's kimono.

Alice sighed and said under her breath, "It still seems they need a lesson in how to compliment someone. It started out nice, but ended rather rudely just like it did before."

Rabbit gave a small chuckle and said equally quiet, "Well they are just ants that don't know much better Alice."

Alice rolled her eyes to the side as the monk ant came closer. Once he was in front of her he bowed lowly and said, "So are you here to speak to the elder then Alice? If so I can lead you to him."

Alice gave a smile, Rabbit was right and she had agreed to visit them. _"At least the Elder was easier to talk to."_ the dark haired young woman thought to herself. She then gave the ant a small curtsy and stated, "If you do not mind, that would be very accommodating. I had planned on visiting him."

The Monk bowed again and said, as he led the way to the temple, "Follow me then."

{-} {-} {-}

It took some time, but they made it to the temple after a long climb up some stairs. As they were getting closer to the Temple Alice couldn't help but ask the monk a question. "So tell me. Does the Elder still say things, know things and dare I say it, think things?"

Rabbit stayed quiet but raised an eyebrow at Alice. The monk answered, "Oh yes he still very much does. It is truly amazing is it not?"

Alice managed to keep a straight face though her green eyes betrayed her amusement as she responded. "Undoubtedly so." The monk just kept going while Rabbit tried his best, not to laugh too loudly at Alice's sarcasm.

Eventually they approached the top of the stairs and stood before two ancient looking large ornate doors. The engravings on the door depicted Alice, Caterpillar and Cheshire. The monk bowed to them and said, "I am not yet worthy to enter the sanctum but you may, along with your friend Rabbit. Alice-sama."

Alice raised an eye brow at the –sama ending. She knew what it meant and didn't think she had done anything to deserve that suffix. Rabbit just smiled as he led Alice inside. Alice watched him and had to resist the urge to hug him again. She was still feeling minor effects from Hatter's Green tea and Sake mixture, though not very strongly, plus she really had missed the rabbit.

Once inside the doors closed behind her and she heard the elder greet her. "Alice-sama. I am truly pleasantly surprised you would meet this unworthy servant. How may I help you?" An aged origami ant stood at the end of the room they just entered. He looked much the same. He had his dark steel colored oriental themed robe on and a long white beard and long white eyebrows.

Alice gave a smile and said, "First of all you don't have to call me –sama. I am not deserving of such a title. Secondly I was told it might be a good idea to pay you a visit, or the others might see it as a bad omen of some kind. Thirdly why am I on the door here with Caterpillar and Cheshire?"

The ant elder gave a small bow of his head and said, "If you say so Alice-sama. As for the second one it is good that you have come. They won't feel like they have been forsaken again, and will be more willing to listen to reason. I tell them I am not the only one that can think things. They just have to want to do that their selves. Yet they still wish to seek guidance from the mountain's protector for everything."

"I doubt he is listening much. I am sure he is probably making good use of those new wings he has. If he isn't partaking in his favorite pastime." Alice said.

"You are indeed still mentally strong it seems Alice-sama." The ant said. Alice gave a small sigh at the whole sama thing but let him continue. She really didn't want to fight about it.

"As for your third question. Well Caterpillar is the protector of the mountain while you are the protector and creator of all of Wonderland. Cheshire is well a Cheshire cat. And you know how Cheshire cats are Alice." He finished as if that explained everything.

"Not really Cheshire is the only one of his kind I have met. So I guess as a whole, they love to act mysterious and seem to always know much more than they are letting on. They still aren't exactly always, useful though." The young woman said.

Rabbit felt like he had to say something in defense of the cat. "Well he did make the Wonderland contract, that should be useful. Would it not be Alice?"

"That is why I said they aren't always useful Rabbit." Alice answered and Rabbit just gave an "Ohh…" in response. Alice then turned to the Ant's leader and asked, "So is there anything you need my help with at this time or should we just catch up?"

The bearded ant gestured to a table as the three of them sat down. "So do you wish to have some tea Alice-sama? Rabbit-san?" The two merely nodded. Alice couldn't really say no to tea when she knew she would be there for a while after all.

Once the tea was served the ant elder started the discussion. "There really isn't anything that needs your attention at this time Alice-sama. So maybe it would be best if I just tell you how things have changed here."

Alice nodded for him to continue. "Well once the ruin disappeared we were allowed to flourish in our own way. We specialize in what you know as far eastern art and other things as well. Some have even said we should start up a ninja village of some sort, though we aren't sure what that is exactly. It seems the realm is taking to everything you have come across in Konoha like sugar or milk with black tea, and relating it to the Far East." After he said that the ant took a long draw form his tea.

Alice thought this over and figured it only made sense. She noticed the similarities as well, though Konoha didn't seem as traditional as what she had heard from Radcliffe. _"I never really remembered what actually happened to him in the end. I suppose after that fit of rage he witnessed he probably said it was evidence I was incompetent, and unable to use my family's assets properly, thus proving my ineligibility for being given my inheritance."_

The ant elder looked at Alice and said, "Is something wrong Alice-sama?"

Alice broke from her thoughts and answered, "Nothing I will trouble you with Ant elder." Rabbit looked at Alice and decided he would ask her later maybe.

The ant elder nodded and then continued. "Once the new train station was to be built it took some convincing on my part, that this was not the same train from before. Once they realized this we embraced the idea to use the station as a way to show others our unique tastes in art, as I am sure you noticed."

"I did. I found the sights rather pleasing for the most part. It is very much different from the rest of Wonderland." Alice said. She still thought the whole ant head on a human's body was strange, but she didn't out right hate strange things. If she did Wonderland would be boring, if it even existed at all.

"Indeed Alice-sama. It is mostly in our arts and crafts, we have excelled. There is actually a relatively high demand for our works, and we get plenty of tourists here." He paused again.

"That is certainly something I don't remember there being much of in Wonderland, even before the ruin. Have things really gotten that much better here?" Alice asked.

"Yes they have. I am not really too sure why though, so that is something you have to ask either Caterpillar or Cheshire about instead. Theories and information have always been more of their cup of tea. Especially Caterpillar when it comes to sharing them. Cheshire, as you said, likes to be mysterious." The ant elder stated as he placed his cup down.

"Well I do plan on visiting 'the Guardian of the Mountain'. Do you happen to know if he is on the mountain right now?" Alice inquired.

"I do not know the ways of the mountain's protector. However, I do know if you go towards the place where you met him before and call he will come to you. I think you will find the trek there much easier than the last time you visited." The elder answered.

"Thanks Ant elder." Alice replied. With that she stayed a little longer to finish her tea and visit with the Ants' leader. It was a rather enjoyable time.

{-} {-} {-}

After she left the Ant elder and started making her way through the jade realm, which was easier but still tiresome none the less, Alice realized something. "Wait a minute. Since I am the creator of this place and its over arching protector. Don't you think I could just call to him from anywhere in here and he will respond?" She asked Rabbit.

"I suppose so Alice." Rabbit answered.

Alice sighed she figured this was another test of her strength of mind. She then stopped on a large jade Island, which had a couple of pouring tea falls suspended in midair above a pool of jasmine tea in front of a mountain as a backdrop. She straightened up and said aloud, "Caterpillar. I wish to speak with you."

Caterpillar then appeared in front of her floating in the air in a puff of bluish smoke. "So you have returned? I see you have done well surviving your punishment, and now you actually punish others for their actions with as much of an even hand as can be expected of you. Grown tired of just witnessing while others suffer?"

"In a way I have. But I am still bound by the rules of this new world. However I can actually do things now I couldn't back in London." Alice answered as she watched him flap his wings, realizing their pattern was similar to what she now knew was an angry Oni mask. When she had seen some masks at a stand in a town they passed through with a festival coming up, she asked Naruto about them. Naruto was excited and eager to tell her all about the different masks.

Caterpillar gave a bit of a smile and landed as he said, "Which is part of the reason why Wonderland is now flourishing. Come Alice won't you talk with me? And join me for a smoke? You can inhale now if you wish. You are old enough now and know the hypocrisy of those that say not to do so."

Alice thought for a bit and then decided she might as well. She figured this would happen, and thought it would make it easier working with him when she needed him. She already figured he would be a great asset as a summon. She also kind of wanted to try it again anyways.

"I suppose so. I have after all partaken in it before, and I did indulge in Hatter's new green tea sake earlier." Alice said as the smoking hookah appeared next to them. She looked at it and waited until he took the first puff before slowly exhaling and passing it to her.

Alice took it and slowly inhaled. She felt a slight tickle in her throat and then she exhaled slowly. Rabbit just sat there. This wasn't his thing plus he was professional most times, even in Wonderland following Alice around as her guide.

"You said part of the reason why Wonderland is flourishing now is because I am not just standing by anymore. What exactly do you mean by that, and why else has it become a better place?" Alice asked. She wasn't too fazed by inhaling the smoke. She did do it a lot when she was last here despite Caterpillar's warnings, though she didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Caterpillar watched her and took another puff to gather his thoughts. "Since you created this place, and it resides in your own mind, your experiences outside are reflected in here. I am sure you already knew this." He handed Alice the pipe and she nodded before taking a draw on it.

"Also, since you are actually taking control of your own mind now. Wonderland mostly learns and is affected by the positive in your life. Which there has been a lot of lately." Caterpillar said.

"Well when you aren't constantly being glared at, or used by others it is easier to be positive. Plus killing Bumby really set me free from the ghosts that had for so long haunted me." Alice said.

"This shows you have courage now, and perseverance to fight what should be fought, regardless of if you are affected alone or not." The butterfly known as Caterpillar said.

Alice took another puff as she thought for a second. "I know I am that way, but I don't see how my killing Bumby has anything to do with helping others. Regardless the fact the world is always a better place for all without such vile people around."

"Tell me. Did you only kill him because of what he did to you and your sister?" He asked knowing the answer.

"No. That was part of it but not all of it. He was a vile man doing unspeakable acts on innocent children who, like me, only wanted to be free from that which hounded them their whole lives." Alice answered forcefully, before making an 'ohhh…' expression.

"Exactly my point. Also the way you wished to help that Sasame girl, even though you later discovered she didn't need it. Shows you are no longer willing to be just a bystander and witness to others' abuse." The smoking insect said.

"So does that mean you will be willing to help me? And if so in what ways can you be helpful Caterpillar?" Alice asked. She already knew the answer. She just felt it was polite to ask anyways.

Caterpillar gave her a half stern expression before smiling and saying, "It really isn't becoming to ask others questions you already know the answer to Alice."

Alice gave a sweet smile and said, "It may not be but I still feel, in this case at least, it is polite and proper."

Rabbit gave a little chuckle as did Caterpillar. "Correct. Yes I will help you Alice. I wasn't able to do much at the time of the ruin either. Though my reasons were different from yours. I can still communicate to you telepathically outside of here. I will also be the size of a normal butterfly out there. I can be in my current size as well, if you wish for me to rely in detail what I have seen to others. I may not be as versatile or capable of covering as much ground as the insects of the Aburame clan. But like I said, unlike them, I can actually speak to others and I can also think for myself rather than relying completely on your instructions. I won't do anything unhelpful so don't worry about that young Alice."

"That sounds most handy actually Caterpillar. You don't mind me still calling you that right? I mean you were Caterpillar to begin with. I hardly see much reason to change your name to butterfly. Everyone knows you as Caterpillar." Alice asked.

"Names are something others call you. If you wish to call me Caterpillar then that is my name." Caterpillar said as he exhaled a couple of smoke rings.

"Good then. So how have you been Caterpillar?" Alice asked.

They then spent a bit of time sharing the Hookah and talking to each other. After a while, Alice got up feeling light headed, dizzy and her mind a bit foggy as well. She always had a suspicion Caterpillar put something in his Hookah. She wasn't entirely opposed to this sensation, but it was definitely something she decided she would mostly do with Caterpillar, and not do on her own.

"Welllll…. I think I shall be going. I planned on meeting Lizzie the Queen of Hearts, but I think I should perhaps let myself recover from this high first." Alice said as she stood up a little shakily.

"Yes. The Queen of Hearts should be approached first with a cleared state of mind. Where shall you go then?"

"I think I will visit Gryphon's roost." Alice answered.

"We can get close to there on the train if you want Alice. He isn't far from the Looking Glass Station." Rabbit said.

Alice smiled at him. "You really are much more helpful than Cheshire was when I visited here in the past. Though I suppose that was because I had to figure things out on my own, or I wouldn't have been able to save Wonderland either of those times." Rabbit just shook his head. He wasn't going to mention he had told her the same thing earlier.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice seemed to be humming quietly to herself as they rode the train back to Looking glass station. She was smiling happily to herself almost as if care free, and oblivious of what was going on around her.

This actually troubled Rabbit. He had seen many like that before in Wonderland. It really wasn't that big of a deal but in Alice's case, he feared she was fitting in too well with her Wonderland. It was almost as if she was close to becoming a permanent resident herself. She had created this world. She should not become a resident of it as well. At least not while she was still fully alive and well in this other world.

Alice sighed and said to Rabbit, "Do you think I am being a coward, by delaying my visit with the Queen of Hearts?"

Rabbit gave a thoughtful look, but at the same time was relieved that she wasn't going all… Wonderland… on him after all. He looked to her and said, "No I think it make sense. You need to be ready for her now that you remembered what you needed to remember and dealt with Bumby."

Alice let out another breath. "I don't think I will ever be ready for this meeting truthfully. However, delaying it longer will only make it worse. I will enjoy spending some time with Gryphon first and get myself as ready as I can be. But after that I will go see her. I only hope I can contain myself. I never was good with guilt. Even when I was younger."

Rabbit gave a little laugh and said, "I don't think many children are. Well at least not with the things you were 'guilty' of as a young girl." Alice gave a little smile and relaxed a little bit as the train finally pulled into Looking Glass Station.

As Rabbit led the way Alice asked more questions. "So what is Grphon's Roost like Rabbit? What should I expect from him once I arrive?"

Rabbit sighed and said, "His place is very fitting of his nature. If you were a Wonderland resident, I would say you should expect to hear a recount of your battle alongside Naruto, against Deidara regardless of if you heard it already or not." Alice gave a little giggle at that.

Rabbit continued, "Like I said earlier, he loves to talk about that. Anyways I expect he will be glad to see you again, and may insist on taking you on a flight. I don't think there will be anything else."

"That sounds like a wonderful time to me, and perfect for letting me get ready for what comes after." Alice said as they pulled into the station.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice and Rabbit stepped off the train after it stopped. Alice took in a deep breath and turned to Rabbit, "So how do we get to Gryohon's Roost from here?"

"Follow me. It's only a hop, skip and a slide away from here." Rabbit said. He then turned back to see Alice hop and skip.

"So I did the hop and the skip, so where is the slide Rabbit?" Alice asked plainly with a gleam of amusement in her eyes.

Rabbit rolled his eyes, took two steps, and said back to her with his own gleam of amusement, "You didn't hop or skip far enough Alice." He was pointing to what looked like a cliff.

As Alice stepped closer, she saw the slide and said nonchalantly, "Indeed it seems so." She then took a few steps back and dashed forward before going down the slide as fast as she could.

Alice slid down the slide really fast and even went off the edge a few times. Fortunately since the slide was so extravagant, with loop de loops, spirals, corkscrews, different levels and even a few small gaps one flew over, she managed to land on a lower level of the slide before coming to a drop that hooked upwards at the end.

Alice screamed with horror and delight as she went skyward. As she started to descend, she gently hovered downwards with an impeccable grace only she could manage. Alice was smiling widely as she fell back on to the cushion like ground, breathing hard as her adrenaline rush started to subside. She thought it was one of those cases where one would say it was better than sex. Well it was better than any sex she had had, even if things did get a little exciting with Sakura in the Hot springs.

Rabbit soon landed beside her and looked at her a little concerned. "Are you alright? I don't think I have ever seen someone so reckless on the slide."

Alice gave him a smile as she stood up. "Well now you have Rabbit."

Alice then looked in front of her and saw a large floating tower that reached towards the sky. At the top of the tower were what looked like several large ledges. Alice decided they must be landing pads of some kind. After all Gryphon wasn't the only being in Wonderland that could fly. However, none of the others could have taken Naruto and herself on their back.

Around the tower, were several more floating islands in the background, and waterfalls that seemed to just end in the sky below the islands. She actually wasn't sure where the water was coming from now that she thought about it. She didn't let her mind dwell on it much though. This was Wonderland. Normal didn't really apply here. Alice preferred it that way. Besides, the outside world was more or less normal, so normal would become boring quickly if Wonderland was as well.

"Ahhh. Greetings Mistress Alice. It is so good to see you again, and you as well Rabbit." A grand and noble voice called from what looked like the main entrance patio, which was made of a small grassy yard in front with a gate at the edge of the floating platform. Rabbit bowed in acknowledgement of the greeting.

Alice smiled as she called back, "You know that title of yours caused for quiet the annoyance in Suna Gryphon. I think we should have words about the whole matter."

Gryphon gave a grand laugh as he said, "I would like that Alice. Perhaps over some tea? I have some Earl Grey I keep stashed away for special occasions."

Alice gave him a half smirk and said, "Bribing me with tea Gryphon?"

"I prefer to call it 'flattery'. Since I do only save it for special occasions and a meeting with Mistress Alice is such an occasion."

"Some say flattery will get you everywhere." Alice quipped back as the grand and noble summon chuckled again. "I think I will take you up on that offer Gryphon."

"Good to hear Mistress Alice. Now just give me a second to extend the…" Gryphon was cut off as Alice triple jumped the gap and floated down landing right next to him. "…Bridge." He finished lamely as he used a paw to toggle a switch and a bridge extended to the visitor ground entrance.

Alice smiled and said, "I must say I can make so much more distance with my triple jump in Wonderland than I can out there."

Rabbit crossed the bridge quickly and matter-of-factly said, "Indeed Alice. You are the master of this realm, so it only makes sense."

"Still doesn't mean it is any less amazing Rabbit." Alice said and looked to him. Rabbit just shrugged and kept going forward with purpose. Rabbit liked tea and he wasn't sure if he had ever tasted Earl Grey before or not. So he was eager to try some.

"The parlor is just on the second floor. I will have one of my staff bring tea up." Gryphon said to Rabbit so he wouldn't have to wonder where they would be meeting this time.

"You have a wait staff Gryphon?" Alice asked in surprise.

"I can do a great many and amazing things Alice, but these paws can't do everything." Gryphon said as he led the girl into his home.

Alice looked around the entrance hall and decided it fit Gryphon's style. It was grand and very noble in appearance. They were on a marble floor, with blue and green colored rugs in many places. He had several sitting areas where there was always a vacant side of the table open. Gryphon obviously didn't need a chair so the seats were for guests. At the back of the hall, there was a large white stairway that led to the other floors. The stairs were broad which given Gryphon's size was a good thing. He was only slightly smaller here in Wonderland than outside now.

They finally came to the Parlor. It was a good sized room with a light blue carpet and sea green walls. The room had several places to sit and still plenty of room for Gryphon to move about comfortably. There was even a piano, though Alice didn't think Gryphon could play it.

"The piano is for guests that like to play such an instrument. I do wish I could play it, but I'm fairly tone deaf it seems." Gryphon told her noticing her eyes lingering on it.

"So not to be pushy, but how long until the tea arrives Gryphon?" Rabbit asked from the chair he was sitting in with his feet moving like an eager child waiting for a dessert.

"It won't be long Rabbit worry not." The majestic beast answered.

"You seem awfully eager Rabbit." Alice said barely keeping her smile hidden.

"Well I like tea and I hate to say it, but I don't think I've ever had Earl Grey before. So I am a bit eager to taste it. I have heard so many things about the tea." Rabbit said giving a grin.

"Then you are in for a treat Rabbit, once it gets here." Gryphon said with a small laugh. The noble beast was in a good mood. He was alive again for a third time. Alice was back. Wonderland was doing well, and of course he was the first one summoned after the contract was signed.

Once the tea arrived Alice and the others took a few moments to enjoy it quietly. Well almost quietly, it seemed Rabbit had really taken a liking to the flavor and was more of a tea enthusiast than Alice thought. "Stupendous, fabulous... No no… Stupefantactulous." Rabbit exclaimed.

The other two looked at him questioningly. Rabbit gave a little chuckle and said, "I had to come up with my own original word for it." Alice and Gryphon just looked to each other, smiled, took another sip, and started talking.

{-} {-} {-}

After hearing Gryphon's recount of her and Naruto's fight, Alice had to agree he seemed to know how to embellish a tale. That or he remembered the fight a bit differently from her. She didn't remember being surrounded by a wreath of electricity, nor Naruto being nothing more than a yellow streak of light as they attacked the Akatsuki member.

_"Maybe things looked differently from in the sky"_ the dark haired girl thought to herself. She did have to say she enjoyed his version of what happened more than the actual fight itself.

Alice stood up after sometime and asked, "Gryphon do you think you could do me a favor?"

"What is it Mistress Alice?" He replied.

Alice looked out the window at one of the floating islands. "I don't mean to burden you… But I was wondering if you could fly me to one of those floating islands out there." She pointed to one that looked like it would be extra pretty. "I saw them all over when I last came to the Vale of Tears, and would have wanted to go to one if I didn't have other things on my mind or in my mind."

Gryphon nodded in understanding, "I can do that no problem Alice. I have looked at a couple of them myself. They are great places for meditation, and a wonder to look around. In fact, I would say if you can find one to yourself it is the second best place to think about things and relax in all of Wonderland."

Alice looked at the one in the window as she said, "I need a little time for that right now."

"Then we can go to one of the perches on top and fly there. Rabbit will you be coming along as well?" Gryphon asked the top hat wearing animal.

Rabbit yawned and answered, "I think I would like to rest for a bit. Alice and I have been to many places already. Perhaps another time. Is it alright if I just rest here?" Gryphon nodded to the Rabbit. "Great. Alice once you are ready to go further call for me. Either literally or by coming back to this room." Alice nodded to him as she left with Gryphon.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice was on Gryphon's back as he flew to the island she pointed to earlier. Alice would have enjoyed the flight, but thoughts of how her meeting with the Queen of Hearts would go were whirling around in her head. Gryphon was a bit concerned, but decided to keep silent for now as they approached the island.

Gryphon landed in a grassy clearing that was tricky to get to, because of the large trees on the floating rock. Alice hopped down and immediately loved this little island. The clearing was just the right size with a small pond by an Alice statue on the left, and a stream that seemed to be fed from a waterfall somewhere up higher she couldn't see. The trees surrounding her had multi colored leaves and large low hanging branches, that were still high up enough that one wouldn't bump their head on them.

Alice smiled brightly as she looked around the place for several minutes. After this she jumped on to a tree branch and just looked over the whole place from a different vantage point. She then turned to Gryphon, "Thank you for the ride Gryphon."

"It was no trouble. I am also fond of this island myself. It is very peaceful and calm." He said kindly to her.

Alice smiled warmly before turning serious, "I also wanted to thank you properly for all of the help you gave me when I visited here to win my sanity. You led the resistance forces bravely despite their small number. I was deeply saddened when I saw you die fighting the jabberwocky." Alice frowned as she remembered the scene again.

"But I came back Alice. We all did once you defeated the Queen of Hearts, well those who were allies did anyways, and we did it again after you defeated the Dollmaker as well." Gryphon told her hoping to bring her out from her dark musings.

Alice thought for a bit longer and then her eyes widened. "I don't understand it Gryphon. I mean I can understand why Hatter came back. I realized it was my own anger and rage at myself that drove him crazy, but why the Queen of Hearts? I know she is Lizzie's avatar, but we have been enemies more or less the whole time. I know she is powerful, but the jabberwocky stayed dead and he was just as powerful as her pretty much. Once I returned, her kingdom was in ruin and her card guards undead. How is it she came back? If as you say, only my allies came back alive, Gryphon? I mean I know I killed her for sure."

Gryphon looked Alice over with a calculating gaze as he said to her, "You still haven't fully realized why she did all she did yet it seems Alice." Alice looked at him questioningly. "Before you ask Alice. I fear I must, this one time, take a leaf from Cheshire's book, and not tell you the answer. I know you are here partly to make amends with her, and needed to think on how to go about doing so. Figuring out what you just asked is critical to that Alice."

Alice sighed and continued trying to think as she looked around the clearing. The answer was just within her grasp, but she needed to figure out something else first.

{-} {-} {-}

After some time passed, Gryphon spoke up again. "Perhaps you need a better place to think Alice?"

"You said this was one of the best places to think Gryphon. If this place isn't helping than what place would?" Alice asked him a little frustrated that she was so close, but couldn't figure it out just yet.

"I said this is the second best place to think. There is a better place to think than here Mistress Alice. Few are allowed to go there though." Gryphon said.

"What is this place you speak of?" Alice asked.

Gryphon stared into her eyes and said evenly, "The one place that was never touched by the taint of the ruin. The one place that is in fact your home here in Wonderland. Only you can go there Alice, and those you have said may as well."

Alice gasped. She hadn't thought about trying to go there. "The Card Castles in the Sky realm?"

Gryphon nodded, "It is your inner sanctum Alice. Nothing can touch you there, even the ruin couldn't. I would recommend you choose carefully if you let any others visit there though. It is a very important place. Wonderland residents can only go there if you are with them, except maybe Cheshire. But I am sure he won't visit unless he knows it is safe to do so, and you are there already."

Alice wasn't sure why he was telling her to be careful who she allows to visit there, but she decided to take his advice anyways. She thought about asking him how Cheshire would know if she was there or not, but then she remembered the answer to that. He was a Cheshire cat.

Alice looked to Gryphon and decided it was time to try making a portal. "Gryphon. I think I will go there now with a portal. Don't bother rabbit. I will call on him when I am ready to take the train to visit Queensland. I might give you a tour of my home another time as thanks for your aide in helping me and Naruto."

Gryphon bowed and said in his grand voice, "You do me much honor Mistress Alice." He then raised his beak and took to the sky.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice focused on the Card castles in the sky. She focused on it for a long time before she finally had a good visualization of it. She then focused her energy, commanding it to make a door to her Wonderland home. Soon she saw what she knew was a very shaking portal, open for her to pass through.

Alice crawled through the portal, since it was on the small side, and tumbled out on the other side barely in time, as the doorway she made collapsed in on itself. "I am certainly glad I didn't try that with anyone in tow. I will have to practice portals here in Wonderland on another visit." Alice said to herself.

She then stood up and looked in front of her. Alice was standing on a bridge section made of cards floating in mid-air. She saw a fancy Card Castle a good ways in front of her. She started walking and sections of bridge would construct their selves in front of her, and then deconstruct their selves once she was a few paces away from them. Alice looked around serenely at the sky-scape in front of her.

The sky was still as beautiful and blue as always, with light wispy clouds here and there. She smiled as she felt the soothing and gentle breeze blow around her, welcoming her to her Wonderland home. She watched as cards drifted lazily with the wind, as if playing a very lax game of chase. She smiled to herself a little bit thinking what Naruto's friend, Shikamaru, would say to this place. She had a feeling from what Naruto told her of him, he would say it wasn't troublesome once you got used to it or something like that. She never planned to invite him here, but it was still a fun thought.

She took Gryphon's words of caution to heart. She started to think maybe he meant to be careful of those outside of Wonderland she invited here. She thought if she dared to invite anyone it might be Naruto, but even he was a maybe. She liked the blonde ninja, but as Gryphon said this part of Wonderland was extra special to her. She still wasn't sure what Naruto thought of her, but she hoped it was in the same light she did him. So unless he thought of her the same way, she wouldn't be inviting him to this part of Wonderland.

Alice was fairly certain she knew how much she had come to care for him, but she also knew she had no experience with things like this at all. Even if she could without a doubt state she loved Naruto, she would never confess so readily. She was brave, brash and maybe even still a small bit crazy, but she didn't understand how girls so brazenly confessed their 'feelings' for someone in this world. It defied all she knew and learned from her lessons growing up. Girls could give giggles, shy smiles and small hints to a guy she liked, but he was supposed to make the first move as far as she knew.

Alice sighed to herself. She knew she would fit in much better in this world than her own, but she was old fashioned in some ways compared to others here. Her manners may be graceful, but socially she was a relic from a long lost era here if anything. Maybe she was from a time that never happened here in this world period.

The dark haired girl straightened up as she got closer to the rather extravagant castle in front of her. A smile graced her lips as she thought seeing this castle definitely made her title as a 'warrior princess' seem even more likely to be truth. If she were to bring Naruto here, he would no doubt start calling her Princess Alice all the time.

She approached the front gates of the castle, and looked at the grassy stretch of land in front of the entry way to it. It had a couple of tables in the front made out of cards, each with three chairs also made from cards. She walked inside and only took a couple of minutes to look around at the rest of the card décor. She was glad that at least some parts weren't made of cards for practical reasons, but most of everything was.

Alice sat down on a surprisingly comfy card chair. She would have loved to look around the place more, but she knew she had to focus on the matter at hand. She needed to figure out how to approach the Queen of Hearts. Alice knew she would prove to be a powerful summon, but she mostly just wanted things to go well. She didn't like the thought of her sister's avatar hating her forever.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice spent a lot of time thinking things over. She had an idea on how to approach the Queen now, but she wasn't going to make her way there until she knew what it was Gryphon spoke about earlier. She knew if she ever hoped to have any kind of a relationship with the Queen, besides an antagonistic one, she needed to know that answer. Alice was sure if she talked to Lizzie's avatar she would find the answer quickly, but she wanted to show her strength to the Queen.

The dark haired girl wanted to show her strength, because last time she spoke to the Queen of Hearts she was lectured by said person on how to be responsible. Alice didn't like being lectured like that, least of all by someone with the face of an eight year old girl. She thought it strange thinking back on the words they shared, but it was almost as if the Queen of Hearts was…

Alice's eyes widened at the thought. Alice thought on it more and she started pacing. "It makes no sense…" She said aloud. "But at the same time it makes too much sense in a strange way…" She argued with herself. "Why? But why would she be…?"

Alice stopped her pacing. Her green eyes glowed in realization and she sighed. "I should have figured it out sooner…" Alice knew the Queen of Hearts wasn't Lizzie fully, but in a way they were surprisingly similar. Alice decided to dawn her Royal Suit dress. She thought it appropriate for the occasion.

The dress's main colors were red and black. It was a rather elaborate dress with several heart and checkerboard designs on it, and the apron had a diamond shape to it with two astrological signs towards the bottom and an upside down spade.

Alice walked up to a mirror and looked herself over in it. She had to say she liked how she looked in the dress, and it was very pretty. However, she couldn't help but focus more on where exactly the spade was pointing. She couldn't help but look at it as her mind wondered a bit. She blushed at where her thoughts went and sighed to herself, "Honestly I don't think a guy needs directions to there." She blushed more. She wasn't sure why it got her attention this time. It never did last time she was here.

She then resigned to the fact; maybe her hormones were going into overdrive now, that she wasn't a scared girl in an asylum. She also wasn't just scraping by in life, while being worked relentlessly to pay for her room and board. "Or maybe I spent too much time around Jiraiya during our trip." She said to herself.

She had to admit that he had rubbed off on her a little bit. She even one time got a little curious about his books, he always went on about, and found one to read while the guys were off doing their own things. She would never say it out loud, but she could see the draw to them. Like she told Kakashi though, that kind of thing was for one to read in privacy.

Alice shook her head of her musings. It was time for her to meet the Queen now. She would grab Rabbit and take the train there. She needed a little more time for her realization to settle in first. Also she wanted to see the Queensland Station.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice made a portal to Gryphon's front yard and smiled to herself as she noticed, while still small, it at least looked more stable than the first one did. "I always have been a fast learner. Maybe I will get the hang of these portals sooner than I thought." She said to herself only a little prideful. The Royal Suit always made her feel braver, almost to the point of recklessness.

Alice stepped through the portal, looked up and called out, "Gryphon. I am here to collect Rabbit now. If you would be so kind as to show me to him."

Gryphon looked her over before saying to her. "It seems you have figured out what I was hinting to you earlier Alice."

Alice nodded and said in return, "Yes, I still need to figure out how to approach her best after that realization, but once the train pulls into Queensland station… I should be ready."

Gryphon just nodded and said to her, "He is still in the second floor parlor. You could just call him you know."

"I don't want to give him a rude awakening like that." Alice replied and made her way to collect Rabbit.

{-} {-} {-}

The train ride to Queensland was a quiet one. Alice was busy going over what she planned to say and how she would present herself to Lizzie the Queen of Hearts. Rabbit just gave her his quiet support, not wanting to disrupt her musings. He was also hoping things went as well as they could when the two talked.

The train finally pulled into the Queensland station and Alice and Rabbit stepped off the train. They looked around the very large and fancy station. The roof was sturdy with little domes here and there of glass. The floor was a red and white checkered pattern. There were card guards that stood watch, but didn't cause any ruckus with the many people walking around the station. In the main hall there was a large portrait of the Queen of Hearts, however you couldn't see her large clawed hands or tentacles.

Alice pondered the portrait and thought it actually made the Queen seem less threatening than she really was. It also made one think she was actually nice and polite. Alice supposed maybe the Queen could be if she really tried at it and wanted it, but the Queen was not so sweet and innocent as the painting made her out to be. "I suppose she is going for a change to her public image. If that is her goal then she should probably not use undead card guards." Alice said quietly.

"Well I suppose she is hoping to partly get away from her 'Off with their Heads' image. It wouldn't do well to be hated by the people and gotten rid of all together by the owner of this world." Rabbit said in answer to her voiced thoughts.

Alice looked at the picture and remembered a little snippet from her past with Lizzie. However Alice didn't show any signs of the emotions the small memory brought with it. Alice just shrugged and kept walking the path in front of her calmly.

The train station was very fancy Alice thought. There were small gardens along the path with sitting areas and trees in the middle under the glass domes. There were several shops and food places as well. Unlike Hatter's Exchange this station was aimed more towards tourism. Alice saw statues of chess pieces and other paintings of the queen and surprisingly a couple of herself as well. Alice noticed in the other paintings you could see the Queen's large clawed hands and the dark haired beauty thought in a strange way the paintings were a slight bit charming.

Alice walked forward with purpose after looking around a little bit. Alice didn't want to seem too eager to see Lizzie again, but at the same time she wasn't going to hold her up. Alice and Rabbit now stood outside of an office with a sign reading 'Reception'. Alice turned to Rabbit with a smile, "Rabbit. I appreciate your help and I enjoyed our time together a lot. However, I think it best I continue alone now. We have been several places today and I bet you are exhausted."

Rabbit unsuccessfully hid a yawn, "I am always ready to help you Alice. I can keep going for as long as I am needed." He stood up straighter and straitened his top hat.

Alice gave him a smile bent down and gave him one last hug as she said in his ear. "I am sure you can Rabbit. But I need to do this on my own." She then stood up and Rabbit bowed before saying his goodbye to her. As she watched Rabbit leave, Alice straightened her posture and composed herself.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice walked inside the office and up to an empty counter. Some of the others in the office watched her and whispered in surprise among their selves. Alice cleared her throat and then said in a calm voice. "I am here to see the Queen of Hearts. Would you be so kind as to direct me to her?"

The receptionist wasn't looking up as she wrote something down on a piece of paper and said, "I am sorry but the Queen is very busy since she is the overseer for Queensland. You will have to wait in line to the right to make an appointment."

Alice shook her head doing her best not to lose her patience. "I think she will make an exception for me, Lori." Alice said reading the name plate on the desk. The other people gathered just watched shaking their heads at the poor receptionist, who didn't know who she was dealing with at the moment.

The office worker sighed in agitation as she said, still not bothering to look up, "I don't know who you think you are, but if you don't get in line then I will have to call the guards ma'am."

Alice really didn't like this woman's tone. Alice was usually rather patient but the rudeness from this worker was grating on her nerves. Alice managed to keep calm as she said to the worker quietly, "Considering I have killed them all at least twice by now and stomped the Executioner, I don't think that will do you much good. I can be polite and patient but I wish to meet with Lizzie and our meeting has been a long time coming. Now if you would, please lead me to her, or I will be forced to summon her here myself."

The receptionist's eyes widened but she still stared down at the paper hoping she was hearing things as Alice continued, "I would prefer not to do so since I feel it would be rude to summon her for the first time without asking her first, but I am growing weary of your attitude."

The office worker looked up and gasped as she saw vivid green eyes staring at her. The office lady stood up bowed several times and apologized, "I am sorry Mistress Alice I didn't know it was you. Please forgive me."

Alice gave her a softer look as she said, "Just tell me how to get there. I won't chop your head off or anything." The receptionist then led Alice into the back of the office and told her how to get to the Queen's throne room before quickly getting back to work. "Perhaps I was a bit tough on her…" Alice sighed to herself before making her way to the Queen.

{-} {-} {-}

Alice was glad to see that while still keeping its same design style mostly, Queensland wasn't filled with rotting flesh anymore. Also the sky was cloudy but didn't seem so helpless. Alice looked to see the hedgerows were a rich green with some blooming flowers here and there. The place was still very familiar, but not falling apart or seemingly dying, so Alice took that as a good sign.

Alice finally entered the castle and made her way to Lizzie's throne room. Alice kept her face neutral as she made her way past the guards, who gave her a salute before continuing with their duties. She soon stood before the doors to the Queen's throne room.

Alice took a deep breath and the guards slowly opened the door as one announced her arrival. Alice looked around the vast room at the walls as she made the long trek to the actual throne. Alice looked over the Queen. She still looked very much the same. She looked to be about 8 to 10 years old with green eyes and black hair cut in a bob with straight bangs.

The Queen looked just like Lizzie did until the older girl grew out her hair around 14 years old. Alice saw many pictures of her sister when she was younger, due to their father's hobby, and recognized fully the Queen's face. Alice looked down and noticed the queen no longer had tentacles she stood on but instead legs. Alice wondered why her tentacles no longer spread out everywhere, but decided to hold on to her question until the right moment.

Alice stepped closer and heard the Queen's voice, which now didn't echo and sounded more like a young Lizzie than some strange mix between a girl and an old woman. "So once again you decide to just march your way right into my home? You'd better have a good reason for doing so... Alice…"

"I am here to discuss things that should have been discussed long ago. I am also here to show you how much I have made my survival mean something." Alice said as she finally stood before the Queen looking her in the eyes confidently, while also keeping aware of her surroundings. The latter was something she had learned to do while traveling with Naruto and Jiraiya.

The Queen of hearts kept her expression neutral not letting Alice know her feelings. Queen Lizzie deep down was actually nervous and dare she say it, happy to see Alice walking in calmly and confidently. However, Lizzie wasn't going to take it for granted. Last time the two met Alice seemed calm and collected but soon fell apart and would have starting crying had she been allowed the time. Seeing that happen would have disgusted the Queen further, so she didn't allow Alice the time. The Queen of hearts hoped Alice was actually what she appeared to be this time, but doubted a few months in this new world really could have changed her that much.

"So you say… Though I have my doubts. You always could put on a brave front but deep down you were always still a scared little girl, wanting someone to hold her hand and protect her." The queen said staring at Alice with a small glare.

Alice didn't flinch. "So I guess that is the reason why you decided to take matters into your own hands back while I was at the asylum. Enslavement and corruption of Wonderland was not the best course of action to do so… Lizzie."

Queen Lizzie blinked a couple of times. "Well since you were absent and the others failed to realize you weren't returning I had to be forceful. I tried some kindness at first as Wonderland began to fall apart around us. The fools kept going on and on about how surely you wouldn't abandon us. They failed to grasp at the time that it was your own state of mind that led to Wonderland's destruction. I however, am not a foolish child, despite my appearance."

Alice kept looking forward and said, "So you instead chose to be more forceful. When I envisioned my older sister Lizzie as a Queen that would get things done, and not go easy on criminals, I had thought she would win the hearts of everyone. I guess that just shows the difference between Dream and reality."

Lizzie's avatar wasn't sure what to make of that. "Knowing the difference between dream and reality… If only you did sooner I wouldn't have needed to take over to save us in the first place."

"Ah yes your take over, which I interrupted when I finally started to regain my sanity." Alice said still not letting any emotion show.

The queen scoffed, "Yes it was going very well until you came prancing about in your mind actually showing you still had some life and hope. That made things rather complicated for me… All of my hard work down the drain as you gave others a shred of hope that you might run Wonderland properly again, though many still doubted it would happen. As a result, I of course had to fight back harder to keep my dwindling control on Wonderland." The queen then gave Alice a stare daring the girl to speak again.

Alice looked at the queen in silence for a moment before speaking again. "So you thought to then play the bad guy and instead test me and force me to take up that role. I guess that explains the lecture you gave me that first time then. You were telling me I needed to grow up, realize what was really happening, and take charge of the world I created along with my own mind." Alice's eyes kept studying the girl in front of her.

The Queen's eyes actually widened only a small bit at Alice's words. This wasn't going the way she thought it would at all. She figured Alice would come in here acting tough and confident before breaking down in to tears again, like she did before. Instead Alice seemed to have figured things out. But the Queen of Hearts wasn't done talking yet.

"If that was the case you ended up disappointing Wonderland when you let that rapist and murder take charge in your stead. I told you before Authority must be obeyed or overthrown. It mustn't be simply tossed aside or willingly handed over to another for no reason whatsoever." Alice's eyes showed anger and some pain. The Queen sneered outwardly but on the inside frowned, fearing what would happen to Wonderland in this new world if Alice let another take charge again, even if it was now a summon realm. Lizzie felt she had earned a sour victory over Alice, thinking the girl would now yell and then start crying. The Queen however would be surprised by Alice's response.

"And that explains why you went on about how unfair it was for me to forcefully overthrow your rule and let someone else succeed instead. You knew I had the means, strength and courage to control my own life. Yet I refused to do so and kept trying to forget my pain and my past. Thus doing a grave injustice to my sister's memory. But I remembered and I gave Bumby the justice no one else would have by my own hand." Alice said giving Queen Lizzie a softer look as said queen's eyes widened in surprise and a few small tears escaped.

"I won't forget again Lizzie. And I won't let someone else fully control my mind and life either. I will take care of my Wonderland and those that are a part of it. I once thought of you as only an enemy. Then I started to realize, even if I needed a hint first, that if you really were just an enemy. You would have stayed dead like the Jabberwocky, and not come back. He was just as much an embodiment of my guilt as I once thought you were." Alice said in a softer tone as Lizzie stepped down from her throne and walked over to Alice. Alice didn't change her expression or drop her guard. She wasn't sure what the girl would try to do.

Alice was surprised when the Queen of Hearts instead of attacking actually gave Alice a tight hug and said quietly, in a voice that sounded more child than adult, "You better… I don't want to be forgotten again… Also I have my hands full enough with working in just Queensland. I can't control Wonderland. I never could, and that was before it grew again. I meant what I said then about what my fate might be. Even I wasn't sure if I would have survived much longer with the ruin around."

Alice returned the hug and kept strong. She wanted to cry some tears of happiness but she knew it wouldn't be a good idea. She could sense the uncertainty in Lizzie's hug and words easily. Alice instead whispered to her softly, "You won't have to worry about that now my Lizzie." With that the two hugged each other a little bit longer before breaking apart.

The Queen then spoke in her more adult like voice, "Well now that we have that out of the way I suppose you wish to know a few things. I will explain the best I can. But as I am sure you know by now, none of us in Wonderland know fully what it is we can do in the outside world. Even Caterpillar… Does he still go by that name?"

Lizzie looked to Alice questioningly and seeing Alice's nod continued. "Even Caterpillar… not sure why he doesn't go by a name like Larry or Sam seems odd calling him Caterpillar when he is now a butterfly… anyways… even he was only making educated guesses about what he can do. Though I think he is spot on with those guesses."

Alice let out a breath and said casually, "I do plan to actually train with you all in the outside world before summoning anyone to battle. I only summoned Gryphon because it was a bit of an emergency. I don't even know what all he can do except fly people around. I will have to summon him sometime again for training as well I suppose."

The queen frowned, "I do wish he wouldn't have been the first you summoned. He has been insufferable since that day. Just so you know I have gone out and apologized to the others for what I did back then…"

Alice gave a little giggle which earned a look from the Queen of Hearts. "Sorry I just found it a bit amusing is all Lizzie. I thought you were doing something like that when I saw your paintings on the way here. I have to say you can actually be a little cute when you aren't being all evil and controlling."

The queen blushed a little bit trying to hide her happiness in being called that by her now rightfully older sister figure, or maybe motherly figure since Alice did give her life. _"I think I like sister figure better."_ Lizzie's avatar thought to herself as she said with minor irritation. "I wasn't going for cute… I was going for kind but strong Queen."

Alice just gave a smile as she said, "I am sure others will see that since you run Queensland."

Lizzie gave a worried look as she said, "I only run it in your stead… I don't actually control it… I mean to say you have higher level responsibilities, so you shouldn't have to take care of all the small things… I won't go against any rules you make, and I sure as hell won't try to over extend my reach again either… You have full access to all of Wonderland and none of us will try to really hide anything from you." The Queen of Hearts gave Alice an earnest pleading look.

Alice gave a little chuckle as she thought to herself that despite who the queen was based off of, their roles were reversed. "I figured that much Lizzie. I quickly figured each of my main summons act as a sort of caretaker, or steward over a part of Wonderland. Anyways tell me what it is you can do."

Queen Lizzie was relieved hearing this and let out a breath. "As for what I can do. Well I have some of the abilities I fought you with back then. I still have my telekinetic attack, and a few fire attacks. I can use my scepter here as a weapon and of course I have my tentacles, though they for some reason come out of my back now. I can fight normally as well and I am sure there are some other abilities I have yet to discover. Also I will keep training when I can and gain more abilities like any summon. As a side note you have command of the card guards and even the executioner now. I think their uses are rather obvious."

Alice thought over the information and nodded her head as she said, "That sounds most useful Lizzie. So now that we have covered that stuff is there anything else?"

Queen Lizzie sort of blushed a little as she said, "Well I did want to try this new tea I got from Hatter. He says, 'it is not fantastic but rather Fantastical!' He called it green tea sake or something like that."

"Ohhh… He told me it was close to being ready to market, but I had no idea it was that close already." Alice said ready to partake in the wonderful drink again. She thought it might be a good way to rebuild her relationship with Lizzie's avatar, who she has decided to call Lizzie. Plus it would help her relax a little she hoped.

"It seems you have already tried it and approved of it. I guess I shouldn't be surprised you are you after all. In regards to your statement, no it is not out officially yet. He sends me and a few others a good bit of free samples in the hopes to use our ratings for marketing purposes. You would be surprised how business savvy he can be, since he isn't consumed by rage now." Lizzie said as she got some tea ready for them in her bedroom just off to the side of the throne room.

Alice looked around the bedroom and thought it very much suited the Queen of Hearts. The bed was heart shaped with heart shaped pillows. The coloring of the room was blood red, black, and gold with hints of white. The curtains on the bed posts were torn and resembled rotting flesh in their design. On the back wall there were two paintings of the Queen of hearts, one was of her in her current form and the other was of her in the form Alice fought back then. Alice also noticed another painting covered with a white cloth sitting on an easel. Alice was getting closer to it and about to peak when she heard Lizzie come back into the room.

After setting the tea set on a table that looked like the top of her scepter the Queen noticed the painting Alice was looking at with curiosity. "I will get that out of the way don't worry." She said to Alice as she moved it into a walk-in closet. "That painting isn't ready for display yet." She told Alice offhandedly as she used a fire ability to heat the tea kettle she placed on the table.

Once the tea was ready Alice for the first time, in who knows how long, had tea with Lizzie, the Queen of Hearts. It turned out to be a rather enjoyable affair, even if the two both knew it would be awhile until they were actually fully comfortable with each other.

As time went on, Lizzie showed to Alice that she had a second human form. The second form looked like a 15 year old version of Lizzie still with the same hair style except the hair was wavier. Alice looked this form over and realized just how similar she and her sister actually were. This 15 year old Lizzie in front of her looked similar to Alice when she first returned to Wonderland except healthier and of course with wavy hair instead of straight.

Alice was relieved she was noticeably different, now at 17 and closing in on 18, than she was back then. She didn't want people to mistake the two of them. Plus Alice may be tolerant of people's behaviors, especially in comparison to the other girls she had met, but Alice didn't think Lizzie would be. Alice also frowned as she looked the girl's chest over and sighed as she realized how close she was to Sakura in that department at that age. One of the few blessings puberty gave her was growth in bust Alice thought.

The two enjoyed some more tea, probably more than they should Alice decided, but she wasn't really in a hurry to go right yet. Alice enjoyed this time immensely, it brought good memories of her time with her older sister. Alice knew very well how different the two Lizzie's were from one another, but they also did have similarities. The new Konoha Kunoichi thought this might make the transition from enemies to friends easier on them.

{-} {-} {-}

After some time had passed Alice decided it was time she got going. She tried to stand up but soon discovered that wasn't really going to happen just yet. Queen Lizzie looked over to Alice with flushed cheeks and gave the older girl a surprise hug. Alice gasped in surprise and looked at Lizzie, once again in her younger from, with her large hands wrapped tightly around Alice. Lizzie then said, "You aren't going to let someone else take over and control your life are you Alice?"

Alice returned the hug and said, "No I won't. I already told you that."

The Queen gave a pout and looked her in the eyes. "Are you sure Alice? I know how you feel about that blonde haired guy and he can summon you…"

Alice laid back and looked up to the ceiling with Lizzie falling on top of her. "Well I do care about him a lot. And I do want him to be a big part of my life. But I won't let him control my life. I will not give up my free will for some guy even if I do like him a lot."

The Queen sat up and stared at Alice critically. "I don't think he deserves that much attention. He hasn't really done much I can tell to show his feelings. Nothing at all like in those books you used to read. Do you think he even likes you that way?"

Alice sighed. This was something she wasn't sure about either, there were hints but she didn't know if they were signs or just him being himself. There were a few things that did stick out in her mind though.

"I think there is a possibility. You have to remember he doesn't have much more experience in interacting socially with others than I do. As far as romance goes the only experience he has is a one sided crush with Sakura, and then Hinata crushing on him but never admitting her feelings for him."

Alice paused here thinking. She liked Sakura as a friend and she knew how things were between the pinkette and Naruto, but she still was a bit jealous of the pink haired girl. Alice had never had someone pining for her. The only flirting she had ever experienced were the random catcalls and whistles, uncouth dock hands and street vendors gave her. Alice also briefly feared she herself may be doomed to Hinata's fate. The dark haired girl took some solace in the fact, she at least did interact with Naruto and didn't go and faint every time she saw him.

The Queen scoffed. "How do you know he won't just go and chase after Sakura again if she shows him just a small hint of affection? Also don't forget that Sasame girl she clearly had strong feelings for him."

Alice sighed again. This was another thought that crossed her mind. "That may very well be. However, I still think there is something between Naruto and I. After all he did tell me his big secret before I even told him my own secrets. I know he hasn't told many people about his resident, but he has me. Also we have only known each other for a few months now. And most of that time we were traveling alone. I think Jiraiya might be right when he told me things will be different here in Konoha. I don't really need, nor want him to get angry at others for so much as glancing at me, but I would like a few hints. Also we have only been in Konoha for a few days in reality, since we had that mission."

Lizzie decided she wouldn't argue anymore. Lizzie yawned and Alice noticed the room wasn't spinning as much anymore. Alice sat up, stretched and let out a breath. "Well Lizzie. I think it is time I get going." Alice then stood up feeling a little dizzy, but she didn't really worry much about it. She didn't think the effects would last once she was on the outside, and she wasn't really going anywhere anyways.

Lizzie stood up, yawned again and said, "I also enjoyed out time together but just so you know… I still don't have full confidence you won't just up and abandon us again like you have before."

Alice gave her a knowing but determined look as she said, "I know. I would be concerned if you already did, considering everything that happened and how involved you were in the events. I will just keep showing you I won't abandon Wonderland."

The Queen studied her. "And how do you plan to do that Alice?"

"By always making my survival mean something and never forgetting again." Alice answered evenly.

Queen Lizzie gave a small nod and said, "Goodnight then Alice. I will see you whenever we next meet. You can summon me whenever you want, even here in Wonderland. My advisors and staff are more than ready to take care of things here whenever I am called away."

Alice gave a small smile and replied, "Goodnight to you too My Lizzie. Sleep well." Lizzie blushed a little bit hearing Alice call her that, as she laid down on her bed and Alice departed.

{-} {-} {-}

Once Alice was a good distance away from the castle she heard a familiar voice from a nearby hedge. "So it seems you have had your tea with the Queen. And I was right when I told you she deep down wanted to have a relationship similar to you and your older sister Lizzie."

Alice in a moment of clarity responded, "It seems so but it will take a while before we are to that point I think. Though the tea was really good and I think it helped both of us out."

"Ahh yes the wonders of alcohol. Just be careful it doesn't become a habit. After all the shrinking potion you drank was a wine of sorts itself." The cat said as he walked by her side.

"So what have you been doing this whole time Cheshire?" Alice asked said cat.

"I have been searching for my own place to stay here in Wonderland. I have yet to find the perfect tree branch." The cat said in complete seriousness.

"I never knew you put much thought into finding a tree branch to lounge around on Cheshire. Is it really that serious of an issue?" Alice said, a slight bit confused by how this was an issue.

"Of course it is. Any Cheshire cat knows this. You've got to make sure the branch has just the right about of angle to highlight your grin when you fade away. Besides it needs to be comfortable and in a decently secluded place." Cheshire said as if it was merely common sense.

Alice looked as if it somehow made sense to her now as well. She then shook her head and figured maybe she had too much to drink with Lizzie. She decided that she should just get out of Wonderland and if things were too bad she should just take a nap or something. Alice then turned and asked, "How am I supposed to leave Wonderland, Cat? You didn't tell me how to leave, only how to enter."

"Well I didn't tell you because you never asked." Cheshire stated with a grin seeing Alice's pout of annoyance. "It might be different for you, but when I leave here I simply visualize myself leaving and entering your world. I think in your case the best approach would be to visualize yourself returning to your outside body. You felt a tug when you entered right?"

Alice nodded to the cat. "When you cleared your mind and entered Wonderland you were actually, in a way, detaching your spiritual form from your physical body, while at the same time keeping yourself anchored to the real world. This is the reason why you feel a tug rather than a rip when you enter here. Also time flows differently in here. This is so you have plenty of time to do whatever it is you wish to in Wonderland without fear of your body weakening from starvation. Time still passes in the outside world, but I believe with practice you will be able to have all the time you need in here, while only losing a minute or two in the outside world. I could be wrong though." Cheshire finished.

Alice sighed, "That is not very reassuring Cheshire. What do you mean by 'I could be wrong though'? I am not exactly in the sharpest state of mind right now. I am not in any condition for riddles. I can't wait until I am out of here. I am very confident I indulged too much on Hatter's new tea."

She stopped for a bit and used the railing along the walk way to steady herself. Things had started to spin again. "I only hope my condition doesn't carry over to the outside world."

Cheshire would have said something to her but decided against it. He knew she would soon learn the answer to that thought, and it might be interesting to see how she reacts once she is outside of Wonderland.

"I don't really know for sure. You might be able to control the time you spend in here to be equal to that of seconds in the outside world, or it might be out of your control and instead there is some direct correlation between time in here and time out there. Either why I don't think enough time has passed for you to fear anything. But you never know." He said in his usual deep voice.

Alice would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't sure she would sick up from doing so. After things evened out, she stood back up and turned to the cat and gave him a smile. "Thanks Cheshire. I appreciate you not spouting out more riddles. Anyways I should get back to Konoha I think. Next time I visit maybe you will have picked out your tree with the right branch and I can visit you."

Cheshire gave a little chuckle and said, "I don't know. It could take many years for me to find the right cat perch. As you know Cheshire cats are extra picky."

Alice shook her head and immediately wished she hadn't done so as she place a hand on her forehead. "I don't know Cheshire. You are the only Cheshire cat I know. So I guess that means I will have to take your word for it." Cheshire grinned and was about to say something when Alice cut him off. "Don't you dare ask me how I can take your word for it, when one can't actually physically touch words."

Cheshire gave a mock frown, "You take all the fun out of syntax games sometimes Alice."

Alice gave a small smile and said, "When the friends you have are fond of them, one learns quickly how these syntax games work. It doesn't matter if said friends are real, created by you, or summons, one still learns."

Cheshire gave a deep chuckle. "Well then I suppose it is good you have such friends Alice. They have a tendency to keep you on your toes."

Alice gave a laugh. "I can keep myself on my toes thank you very much. But right now I don't think that would be a wise decision, so I will just stay on my feet. Anyways good bye for now Cheshire."

Cheshire faded away grinning. While his grin hung around for a while afterwards it said, "Goodbye for now Alice."

Alice gave a final smile and then pictured herself returning to her physical body. Once a couple of minutes passed she felt as if she was gliding back to her body. Once Alice came too and gave out a groan she realized, while she wasn't feeling sickish, she could tell she was very much tipsy, maybe even drunk.

She stood up carefully, stretched and decided first thing was first. She needed to find out how much time had passed in this outside world. The clock on her desk said it was only a few minutes since she left, and the window in her apartment showed it was night time in the outside world. However, Alice knew there was a possibility that a day or more might have passed. She decided she would have to give Naruto one last visit before she went to bed for the night.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the long chapter, I hope the chapter wasn't too long, but I wanted to finish up Wonderland in two chapters instead of three. Anyways feel free to review, and like I said Naruto will get more time now.

Since Alice has visited Wonderland finally, and is starting to settle into Naruto's world. I plan to make the story more balanced between the two main characters Naruto and Alice. After all one thing I hated about Naruto the series was the way Sasuke was at first played up to be the main character instead it felt like. Even now it still at times seems too much time is taken up by Sasuke. I hope I don't give too much story to one character in this Fan fic, but we will just have to see how things go.

Hope you liked the chapter. I also hope you all at least tolerated what happened with Alice and the Queen of hearts. I didn't want it to be violent, but did want there to be noticeable tension between them and a glimpse at what their relationship will become in the future with time.


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